Breel Embolo gave Switzerland the lead against Cameroon on Thursday 24th of the November 2022.
But the Monaco forward chose against celebrating as he was born in Cameroon
Embolo therefore opted for a muted celebration after his goal at the World Cup
The Monaco forward broke the deadlock three minutes into the second half of Switzerland’s opening fixture on Thursday, but he chose against celebrating it and instead raised both hands while appearing to apologise.
Embolo, 25, was born in the Cameroonian capital of Yaoundé, before moving to France with his mother at the age of five, where she met her future Swiss husband.
Breel Embolo finishes off a well-worked Swiss move to open the scoring
🇨🇲 There’s no celebration against the country of his birth#ITVFootball | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/DUIckNRuoV
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 24, 2022
Shortly after the family therefore relocated to Basel, where Embolo plied his trade as a youth player and, as a result, received Swiss citizenship in 2014.
After featuring for their Under-16 side, he committed his international allegiance to Switzerland in December of that year and has since earned 59 caps.
Fans were quick to praise Embolo over his mark of ‘respect’ for Cameroon, taking to Twitter to express their admiration for his muted celebration.
One wrote: ‘Embolo was born in Cameroon? Much respect for that celebration’.
Another posted: ‘Respect for #Embolo #FIFAWorldCup for not fully celebrating the goal. That shows some love’.
A third commented: ‘Embolo scored for Switzerland and didn’t celebrate because he was born in Cameroon. Class