Rieder heading to the World Cup – Saad and Gharbi hold Brazil to a draw
FCA players successful on international duty
First Team
19.11.2025, 09:00
Several FCA players were in action on Tuesday evening to see out the final round of this year’s international fixtures. Here is an overview of the results.
Fabian Rieder secured his World Cup ticket for next year with the Switzerland national team. In the final group match of qualifying, Switzerland played out a 1-1 draw in Kosovo. Rieder came on in the 69th minute for goalscorer and former Augsburg player Ruben Vargas. This makes him the fifth FCA player to book their World Cup spot, joining Finn Dahmen (Germany), Elias Saad, Ismael Gharbi (both Tunisia) and Kristijan Jakić (Croatia).
The dream of a first ever World Cup finals appearance is still alive for the Kosovo national team and Elvis Rexhbecaj. FCA’s midfielder played the full 90 minutes and was booked in injury time. As group runners-up, Kosovo advance to the play-offs, where potential opponents include Wales, Czechia, Slovakia or Poland. Greece, on the other hand, will not be at the World Cup – Dimitris Giannoulis was once again not named in the squad for his side’s goalless draw against Belarus.
Elias Saad and Ismaël Gharbi played Brazil in a friendly match and earned a respectable 1-1 draw. Saad started and was substituted 80 minutes in, while Gharbi was brought on in the 59th minute. The FCA duo have more international action to look forward to at the end of the year – Tunisia will face Uganda, Nigeria and Tanzania in the group stage at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
There was another win for Germany U21s, as Antonio Di Salvo’s side beat Georgia 2-0 in an U21 EUROs qualifier. Mert Kömür once again started and was substituted in the 63rd minute. In the 14th minute, the 20-year-old narrowly missed a brilliant first-time volley. His Augsburg teammate Anton Kade came on in the 84th minute and helped see out the victory.
