Chelsea’s Deniz Zakaria has officially been named in the Switzerland squad for the World Cup in Qatar.
Despite making just one appearance this season since joining Chelsea on loan from Juventus, he’s on the Swiss plane as part of a 26-man squad.
He is joined by Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka, Newcastle United’s Fabian Schar, and Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji.
Switzerland’s official squad has been confirmed on Twitter.
They are in a very difficult group at the World Cup alongside Serbia, Cameroon and tournament favourites Brazil.
Denis Zakaria in Switzerland squad
It’s been a really slow start for Zakaria in Chelsea colours this campaign, but he’s still got enough credit in the bank to be called up by his country for the World Cup.
The 25-year-old midfielder already has a lot of international pedigree, earning 42 senior caps in his career.
He’s been used only once by Chelsea since arriving at Stamford Bridge, scoring during an impressive debut earlier this month against Dinamo Zagreb.
The central midfielder didn’t get an opportunity under Thomas Tuchel, plus current boss Graham Potter appears hesitant to give him regular minutes as well.
His eye-catching debut for the club last week has left Blues fans demanding he plays more, which is why he should be involved in tonight’s Carabao Cup third round match away to Manchester City.
Switzerland are taking quite a big chance by including Zakaria, who doesn’t have much match sharpness in his legs going into the major tournament.
However, he’s got international know-how and has been consistently training at Chelsea with top players every day.
The Swiss clearly know all about his individual talent, and they’ll definitely be rooting for him to start this evening against Man City.
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