Switzerland forward Breel Embolo did not travel with his national team to the United States on June 2, 2026, after his ESTA travel authorization was placed under review just hours before departure [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. The Swiss squad left for the 2026 World Cup without him. The Swiss football federation said, "Unfortunately, Breel Embolo is currently unable to travel to the United States with the team. His ESTA authorisation had been approved until this morning. However, at 10:30am, we were informed that his ESTA application had been placed under further review. We are currently in contact with the relevant authorities and expect that Breel will either join the team later today or travel tomorrow and join the squad then." [1]
Embolo visited the US Embassy in Bern on June 3 to submit a visa application after the ESTA review [2, 8, 9, 10, 6, 7]. The embassy informed the Swiss federation that the visa application was being processed as a priority and the federation said Embolo and the team were "awaiting approval so that he can travel to San Diego and join the squad as soon as possible." [2]
The ESTA review is linked to a 2018 legal case in Basel in which Embolo was convicted in 2023 of making multiple threats. He received a suspended sentence, and the conviction was upheld on appeal and finalized in April 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. US authorities requested court documents and additional inquiries focusing on whether physical violence was involved, which it was not. [2, 9, 6, 7] A statement from the Swiss federation in Chinese noted that "the embassy's investigation centered on whether any physical violence was involved, and that was not the case." [6]
All Swiss team ESTA applications, including Embolo's, were initially approved. Around two and a half hours before the squad's flight on June 2, US authorities requested extra checks on Embolo's application [2, 9, 6]. Embolo had traveled to the US in June 2025 with Switzerland for friendlies against Mexico and the US without visa problems [1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 6].
On June 4, 2026, Embolo’s visa was approved, allowing him to travel. The Swiss federation announced he would join the team in San Diego on June 5 or the evening of June 5 [8, 11, 10]. They stated, "We have just been informed that Breel Embolo's visa has been approved. He will therefore be able to travel to the United States. He is expected to join the team on Friday evening." [11]
Embolo, 29, has scored 23 to 24 goals in approximately 85 to 86 appearances for Switzerland. He featured in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups [1, 5, 6, 7]. Switzerland’s 2026 World Cup group includes Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Qatar. Their first match is against Qatar on June 13 in Santa Clara [1, 2, 11, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].
