There is a certain jeopardy that creeps into a tournament when a side flatters to deceive. Switzerland were staring at that very precipice. Stuck in a...
There is a certain jeopardy that creeps into a tournament when a side flatters to deceive. Switzerland were staring at that very precipice. Stuck in a sterile rhythm against a stubborn Bosnia and Herzegovina side, the familiar pangs of frustration were beginning to echo. After raining 26 shots on the Qatari goal in their opener only to draw, the script felt disturbingly similar. They were dominant in possession but sterile in the final third, their attacking patterns lacking the necessary venom.Then came the intervention of Johan Manzambi. The 20 year old, fresh from a Europa League final defeat with Freiburg where he still managed to shine against Aston Villa, was introduced as part of a triple gamble just past the hour mark. The gamble paid off within three minutes. A superb, hooked right footed volley broke the deadlock and broke Bosnia's spirit. It was the kind of clinical finishing that had been conspicuously absent. Where others had snatched at half chances or overplayed in the box, Manzambi offered pure, uncomplicated violence with his boot.His second goal was of a different register. Understated but sumptuous, it confirmed that this is not a flash in the pan. He is a player who reads the geometry of the pitch with an old head on young shoulders. Then the match descended into a chaotic finale. Ermin Mahmic thundered in an unstoppable 71mph volley for Bosnia, a strike that would have been lauded had it not been a mere consolation. Granit Xhaka, the captain, capped a fine performance from the penalty spot after Djibril Sow was clumsily tripped by Amar Memic. The scoreline flattered Switzerland, but the three points did not.The red card for Muharemovic, a moment of madness, shifted the tide irreversibly. Before that, Bosnia had held a disciplined low block that frustrated Switzerland's transitional play. But with ten men, the gaps appeared, and Manzambi exploited them with the ruthlessness of a natural born finisher. For Switzerland, this was squeaky bum time. They bottled the opening game against Qatar but did not bottle the moment here. That mentality might just be the foundation they needed to build a real campaign. The hype around Manzambi It is now entirely justified.
