Zeki Amdouni makes Swiss World Cup squad despite playing just 45 minutes this season

Zeki Amdouni is well worthy of his Swiss World Cup call up despite his lack of game time for Burnley this season.

That’s the verdict of Burnley’s interim boss Mike Jackson, who admits the 25-year-old was “banging on his door” to play during the final weeks of the season.

It comes after the forward missed almost the entirety of the campaign with an ACL injury he suffered last summer.

But after 291 days, Amdouni made his return during the defeat to Leeds United at the start of May - Jackson’s first game in caretaker charge.

The Swiss international then appeared in the subsequent three games of the season, but still only amassed just 45 minutes of action in total.

He did, however, get another 45 minutes under his belt during Switzerland’s 4-1 friendly win over Jordan on Sunday, coming on as a half-time substitute.

Despite his nightmare campaign, Amdouni was still included in Switzerland’s squad for this summer’s tournament in North Africa - and according to Jackson, it’s exactly what the striker deserves.

“We've missed him,” he said. “A player like him, you do miss him.

“For him, he was banging on my door straight away, ‘I want to play, I want to play, I'm ready to play’.

“We just had to be careful with him because he's come back from that cruciate ligament, so we had to do right by him.

“But I think his performances and his fitness are getting better and I think he deserves to go.”

Amdouni is one of six Burnley stars that will be in action in USA, Canada and Mexico in June, joining Hjalmar Ekdal, Axel Tuanzebe, Shurandy Sambo, Hannibal and Lyle Foster.

During the final stages of the campaign, Jackson admits he used the World Cup as motivation for some of his players, with relegation already confirmed.

“I said in a meeting with the lads, I think it was a week or two ago, I said: ‘there's two or three things that you should be going for, and one of the things was that if you're in that World Cup, make sure you're in the best possible condition physically, mentally and football-wise. When you go to the World Cup, you're representing your country, so make sure that you're ready’.

“That was one of the things I spoke to them about and it's a great privilege. It's the best thing on earth, isn't it? So I'm delighted the lads that are in it and I think it's a credit to them.”

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