No wonder Newcastle United are working overtime to wrap up a deal for Johan Manzambi. The secret, if indeed it ever existed, is well and truly out when it comes to the 20-year-old Freiburg forward who destroyed the Algeria defence to tee up Breel Embolo for Switzerland’s opener in an ominously comfortable victory to reach the last 16. Granit Xhaka, as any good captain would, has tried to keep a lid on soaring expectations, but doing so just got that bit tougher after the Swiss recorded victory in a knockout game at the World Cup for the first time since 1938.
“He’s had a great tournament, keep your eyes on him,” came the pre-match message from the stadium announcer accompanying images of Manzambi limbering up on the giant cuboid screen dangling from the roof. The same display detailed Manzambi as sixth in Fifa’s jazzy power rankings for attacking, behind a star-studded cast led by Kylian Mbappé and including Michael Olise, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane. Algeria, however, did not heed the warning.
This game was 10 minutes old when Ruben Vargas nudged a cute pass infield to Manzambi, who promptly took charge, gladly taking over the baton a few yards inside the Algeria half. He carried the ball to the byline, toying with the Algeria right-back Aissa Mandi en route, and then, off balance, still found the composure to dig out a cross. Embolo applied the finishing touch, pulling his cheeks apart to exhibit a goofy smile, but it was a goal tailor-made by Manzambi.
From there, Switzerland were in cruise control and they doubled their lead 48 seconds into the second half. Dan Ndoye made the finish look easy, superbly taking Mandi’s hopeful clearance on his left foot before dispatching a shot into the far corner past Luca Zidane, who got fingertips to the strike, with his right. Murat Yakin, greyscale quiff and thick-rim maroon glasses, emerged from the trench of his dugout to drink in the moment, passage to the next round on the horizon.
Switzerland began their tournament with a frustrating draw against Qatar, a stoppage-time equaliser making light of their bombardment, but have now racked up three successive victories, scoring eight goals, conceding just twice. Vargas was lively down the left, tying opponents in knots, and Ndoye, too, on the opposite flank. Manzambi was withdrawn midway through the second half, his work done.
Defensively, the truth is they were barely troubled, Algeria failing to work Gregor Kobel; Houssem Aouar made a mess of the game’s first big chance after five minutes, fluffing his lines after reading Riyad Mahrez’s neat dummy and Ibrahim Maza later prodded wide after Mahrez’s cross cannoned off Aouar. At 2-0, Mahrez’s first-time shot lacked conviction, allowing Denis Zakaria to block.
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Switzerland should have added a third goal on 81 minutes after Zakaria sent a cross into the Algeria box. But instead of beating Zidane with the goal gaping, Fabian Rieder contrived to send the ball back where it came from, allowing the Algeria goalkeeper to smother. Ultimately, it did not matter, there was no late fretting, and Switzerland can get used to their British Columbia surroundings as they prepare to face either Colombia or Ghana here on Tuesday.
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