'Hurt deeply': Okafor says he will not play for Switzerland under current manager

[p]The [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/leeds/tUxUbLR2/"]Leeds ‌United[/a] player featured for 19 minutes as ‌a substitute in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/switzerland/rHJ2vy1B/"]Switzerland[/a]'s last-32 defeat ‌by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/algeria/nc87N1BR/"]Algeria[/a] at the World Cup, taking his tally to 26 international appearances.[/p][p]However, ‌the 26-year-old said his limited ⁠minutes did ‌not influence his decision, which he stressed ​stemmed from the way he had been treated.[/p][p][b]"My decision has ​nothing to do with my playing time.[/b][/p][p][b]"Things happened that hurt me deeply. ⁠Trust was ​broken. Commitments were not kept. And when I was allowed to play against Algeria, people reacted to minor mistakes ‌far away from our goal in a way that hurt me deeply.[/b][/p][embed guid="ceb48eb0-ab6d-43d1-bc93-244fb9bf88be" url="https://x.com/noah_okafor/status/2098003833720819881" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"In the weeks that followed, I thought a lot and decided for myself that I no longer want to play for the national team under the current manager," [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/okafor-noah/EDhpumvd/"]Okafor[/a] said ‌in a statement on Instagram.[/b][/p][p]The Swiss ​FA acknowledged Okafor's decision.[/p][p][b]"Noah informed us ‌today that, for the time being, he will no longer play for the national team. We respect his decision and wish him every ⁠success with ⁠his club," said ‌a spokesperson.[/b][/p]