Switzerland's Embolo trolled for no celebration after goal against country of birth Cameroon in World Cup 2022

By Sunita Iyer | First Published Nov 24, 2022, 5:35 PM IST

Breel Embolo, who was born in Cameroon, did not celebrate after opening the scoring against them for Switzerland in their Group G clash at the Qatar World Cup 2022, sparking a massive reaction on social media.

Breel Embolo was the star of Switzerland vs Cameroon Group G clash at the ongoing Qatar World Cup 2022 on Thursday. Early in the second half of the game at Al Janoub Stadium, the 25-year-old forward had a breakthrough to score the game's only goal, guiding the Swiss team to a 1-0 win over the African nation.

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However, what was even more striking was Embolo's non-celebratory reaction following his goal. Switzerland forward had a muted celebration because he is a Cameroon national by birth. After his parents separated when he was five, Embolo moved to France with his mother and eventually shifted to Switzerland.

Switzerland begin with three points! 🇨🇭 |

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup)

Embolo made his professional debut for the Swiss Super League team FC Basel in 2014, the same year he naturalised as a Swiss citizen.

The 25-year-old transferred to the German team Schalke 04 in 2016 before signing a four-year deal to play for Borussia Monchengladbach in 2019. He made 132 games in the Bundesliga, during which he scored 28 goals and assisted on another 29. In an interview with Bundesliga last year, Embolo stated, "I'm definitely 60 or 70 per cent Swiss now, even more so than I am African."

Embolo currently plays for Monaco in Ligue 1 and has eight goals this season in 23 appearances across all competitions. He has four assists to his name as well.

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While a few respected Embolo's gestures of not celebrating after scoring against his country of birth, several netizens took to Twitter to troll the young forward.

"For someone to go as far as representing a country they weren't born in is a different type of hate. I blame the gvt, SMFH !" said one user, while another added, "Not representing your own country is so weird."

A third troller noted, "Here is an idea….He could have just simply played for Cameroon," while a fourth user said, "Lmaooo. Play for them then. Nonsense."

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Here's a look at some of the reactions to Embolo's muted celebration after scoring a goal against Cameroon:

Africa should learn from this though.. We’ll keep losing players (rightfully so) because there’s little opportunities back at home & the mismanagement of our footb (sports in Gen) demoralizes players who’ll keep looking for greener pastures away from home.. https://t.co/rVibLGviHq

— 🇧🇷🇪🇸 Raw Abiding Citizen 🇸🇳 (@Mr90Plus)

He doesn’t have that dog in him pic.twitter.com/hO2aEVqy4V https://t.co/yHwu6xi196

— Shamone (@jr1of1)

For someone to go as far as representing a country they weren’t born in is a different type of hate . I blame the gvt , SMFH ! https://t.co/W9NAYY2dSh

— Ntuthu A. Mbembe 🇧🇷🇵🇹 (@Ms_Ntuthu)

not representing your own country is so weird https://t.co/o6hTi13cAM

— from the river to the sea 🇵🇸 (@LFCmeli)

Meanwhile: https://t.co/d6RUupP3Hm pic.twitter.com/p1liirHaYq

— Ebe Westside 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇯🇵 (@Ebe4Eva)

Here is an idea….He could have just simply played for Cameroon 🇨🇲 🤷🏿‍♂️😒😏🤣 https://t.co/Kr46jOxloi pic.twitter.com/I2dCyeLrb8

— ✊🏾Souljah (@FeligoC)

Lmaooo. Play for them then. Nonsense https://t.co/MnTk4DDyyG

— Ayobami (@dondekojo)

This gesture is senseless and idiotic https://t.co/RITVCP33Mj

— Fanelesibonge Mabaso (@FanelesibongeCM)

That is heart beat....Respect https://t.co/ObLrGFitAU