Switzerland leave former captain Inler off Euro 2016 squad
BERN, Switzerland --
Former Switzerland captain Gokhan Inler was left off a 28-man squad for a European Championship training camp after failing to break into Leicester's Premier League title-winning team.
Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic said he is ''sincerely sorry'' for discarding a ''big player, a big personality'' like the 31-year-old Inler, who has played 81 times for his country.
Petkovic gave a first call-up to 19-year-old Denis Zakaria, who plays an Inler-type holding midfielder role for Young Boys.
The players were called to a training camp starting Sunday ahead of a May 31 deadline to name a 23-player Euro 2016 squad. Switzerland has warm-up matches against Belgium in Geneva on May 28, and Moldova in Lugano on June 3.
Switzerland is in host France's group at Euro 2016 along with Albania and Romania.
---
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Yann Sommer (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Roman Buerki (Borussia Dortmund), Marwin Hitz (Augsburg), Yvon Mvogo (Young Boys)
Defenders: Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus), Nico Elvedi (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Michael Lang (Basel), Johan Djourou (Hamburger SV), Steve von Bergen (Young Boys), Fabian Schaer (Hoffenheim), Francois Moubandje (Toulouse), Ricardo Rodriguez (Wolfsburg), Silvan Widmer (Udinese), Philippe Senderos (Grasshoppers)
Midfielders: Valon Behrami (Watford), Blerim Dzemaili (Genoa), Gelson Fernandes (Rennes), Fabian Frei (Mainz), Granit Xhaka (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke), Renato Steffen (Basel), Denis Zakaria (Young Boys), Luca Zuffi (Basel)
Forwards: Breel Embolo (Basel), Haris Seferovic (Eintracht Frankfurt), Admir Mehmedi (Bayer Leverkusen), Eren Derdiyok (Kasimpasa), Shani Tarashaj (Everton)
