Swiss teen Beney out of World Cup with ACL tear

Swiss midfielder Iman Beney will miss the Women's World Cup kicking off later this month after sustaining a serious knee injury in training, the country's national team said on Tuesday.

The 16-year-old, who plays for BSC Young Boys in Bern, tore her anterior cruciate ligament in training before Switzerland were set to play Morocco in a friendly on Wednesday.

Beney is the latest player to be ruled out of the tournament with an ACL injury. Others include Janine Beckie of Canada, France's Delphine Cascarino and Vivianne Miedema of the Netherlands.

Heartbreak for 16 year old Iman Beney who yesterday, just 1 week after her national team debut, was selected for her first major tournament.

Unfortunately during a dual in training today she suffered a rupture of her Anterior Cruciate Ligament ??

©? Keystone pic.twitter.com/NXQ043ywC9

— swiss wnt (@swisswnt) July 4, 2023

Switzerland has called up Amira Arfaoui of Bayer Leverkusen to replace Beney.

Switzerland will open their Group A campaign against the Philippines on 21 July before taking on Norway and co-hosts New Zealand.

Switzerland may fancy their chances as they are the second-highest-ranked side in the group, only behind 12th-placed Norway. The Philippines and New Zealand are both outside the top 20.