Four SC players heading to the World Cup
The season may be over, but four SC players are heading straight into international action. Philipp Lienhart, Igor Matanovic, Yuito Suzuki and Johan Manzambi will travel with their national teams to the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, which takes place from 11th June to 19th July.
The 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico will feature 48 nations, with SC represented in four different squads. Austria coach Ralf Rangnick has called up Philipp Lienhart, with Austria beginning their Group J campaign on the west coast in San Francisco. It will be Austria’s first World Cup appearance in 28 years. Johan Manzambi will head to the World Cup with Switzerland and will also begin his tournament in San Francisco. Croatia start their campaign against England in Dallas, with Igor Matanovic part of their squad. Yuito Suzuki, who missed SC’s recent matches through injury, has joined up with the Japan national team. They begin their tournament against Sweden in Dallas.
All four SC players will play at least one friendly with their respective national teams before the World Cup gets underway.
The international fixtures at a glance:
Austria (Philipp Lienhart):
Mon, 1/6, 20:45 CEST | Friendly | Austria - Tunisia
Thu, 11/6, 4:00 CEST | Friendly | Austria - Guatemala
Wed, 17/6, 6:00 CEST | World Cup group game | Austria - Jordan
Mon, 22/6, 19:00 CEST | World Cup group game | Argentina - Austria
Sun, 28/6, 4:00 CEST | World Cup group game | Algeria - Austria
Croatia (Igor Matanovic):
Tue, 2/6, 18:00 CEST | Friendly | Croatia - Belgium
Sun, 7/6, 20:45 CEST | Friendly | Croatia - Slovenia
Wed, 17/6, 22:00 CEST | World Cup group game | England - Croatia
Wed, 24/6, 1:00 CEST | World Cup group game | Panama - Croatia
Sat, 27/6, 23:00 CEST | World Cup group game | Croatia - Ghana
Switzerland (Johan Manzambi):
Sun, 31/5, 15:00 CEST | Friendly | Switzerland - Jordan
Sat, 6/6, 21:00 CEST | Friendly | Switzerland - Australia
Sat, 13/6, 21:00 CEST | World Cup group game | Qatar - Switzerland
Thu, 18/6, 21:00 CEST | World Cup group game | Switzerland - Bosnia-Herzegovina
Wed, 24/6, 21:00 CEST | World Cup group game | Switzerland - Canada
Japan (Yuito Suzuki):
Sun, 31/5, 12:25 CEST | Friendly | Japan - Iceland
Sun, 14/6, 22:00 CEST | World Cup group game | Netherlands - Japan
Sun, 21/6, 6:00 CEST | World Cup group game | Tunisia - Japan
Fri, 26/6, 1:00 CEST | World Cup group game | Japan - Sweden