FCB striker Zaki Amdouni will start his third national team in 2023 with an excellent performance record. His rise should also continue in the national jersey.
There is no other player in the Swiss national team like Zaki Amdouni. The 22-year-old striker has already scored 10 times in all competitions this year and, with Andy Zekiri, forms an unbeatable duo at FC Basel.
Amdouni now wants to take that momentum into the national team and European Championship qualifiers against Belarus (Saturday) and Israel (Tuesday) – but he has to do so without his striking partner Zekiri. The 23-year-old sprained his ankle early in the match against YB on Sunday and had to call off coach Murat Yakin on short notice.
“It’s a shame he’s not there,” Amdouni says at the national training camp in Basel. “It was great to be here together – but I hope it works out again,” said the Geneva native. The young man concentrates and controls his third move.
“i DESERVE this”
So far he has only played part-time in the national team jersey. In the fall of Geneva He came on as a substitute in the 79th minute of a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic and made his debut. In his current form, the striker, who was still playing for Étoile Carouge in Ligue 1 in 2019, wants more. “I deserve to be here and I want to show the coach that he can trust me,” the 22-year-old confirms.
Tuesday’s home game against Israel in Geneva must be special for him. Would it be a dream to score your first international goal in your home country of all places? “Yes and no. But it would certainly be a nice story.” Amdouni’s challenge will be to bring his quality performances, which he has managed to deliver time and time again at club level this year, to the national team – and without Andy Zekiri – on the pitch.
“Creator. Troublemaker. Reader. Tv nerd. Proud beer advocate. Unable to type with boxing gloves on. Introvert. Certified zombie practitioner. Thinker.”
More Stories
Marco Odermatt is happy to have Marcel Hirscher back
From Auerbach to Orlando – the fans go to the World Cup
Marcel Hirscher wants to return to the Netherlands