Switzerland manager Murat Yakin had decided not to call-up Leeds United‘s Noah Okafor prior to his international retirement.
On Thursday, the 26-year-old made a surprise announcement confirming his retirement from international football.
The Leeds United player said the surprising decision wasn’t due to the limited role but because of “things happened that hurt me deeply.” He also talked about a lack of trust and broken promises, among other reasons.
Leeds United man’s complicated spell with NT
The winger made two appearances for Switzerland since November 2024, and both were in the summer.
It’s important to provide a background on his complicated spell with the national team over the past two years.
Noah Okafor’s attitude during Euro 2024 was questionable and he had a misunderstanding with Murat Yakin during the tournament.
Therefore, Yakin didn’t include him in the squad last year. In November 2025, the player publicly lashed out at the manager for not considering him despite featuring for Leeds United.
In February, Yakin and Switzerland director Pierluigi Tami made a trip to England to sort out the issues with Okafor. The manager was to include him in the squad in March before an injury forced him to miss those matches.
Okafor recovered on time and made it to the World Cup. He only played 19 minutes in the 2-0 win over Algeria in the Round of 32.
Manager unhappy with Leeds man and his camp
Blick now shares an insight into what went wrong between Switzerland and Noah Okafor.
Murat Yakin was clearly happy with the ‘new incident’ involving his entourage during the World Cup.
The outlet states: ‘The Swiss Football Association (ASF) cites attacks against the ASF and the head coach, published on various platforms by individuals in Okafor’s inner circle.’
There’s no further information about the ‘new incident’ or about the posts shared by his camp online.
The Swiss FA informed the national team captain group, led by Sunderland star Granit Xhaka, of Yakin’s decision about Okafor.
Blick, who knew about this information in advance, had contacted his representatives on Wednesday, who refused to comment. A day later, he announced his retirement.
They state: ‘This international retirement, accompanied by an attack on the coach, currently marks the latest chapter in a ruined relationship between the Swiss national team and Noah Okafor, a relationship that has seen little sporting success.’
The Leeds United man has played 1,002 minutes from 26 matches for Switzerland, managing two goals and two assists.
