Los Angeles: Midfielder Johan Manzambi scored twice in the second half to help Switzerland move to the top of Group B after Johan Manzambi bagged a brace in the second half to beat ten-man Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-1 here in their second FIFA World Cup match on Friday (IST) here at Los Angeles Stadium.
The Freiburg star struck twice in a goal-laden second half as the Swiss followed up their opening-match draw against Qatar with an impressive and ultimately deserved victory.
At 20 years and 247 days, Manzambi became the youngest player to score two or more goals in a FIFA World Cup match for Switzerland. He is also the first player to score multiple World Cup goals for the Swiss having come off the bench.
“Yes, it’s probably the best moment of my career so far. We knew why we didn’t start well and we had to be patient today. But we’re a good team and I think we showed that today,” said Manzambi.
After a forgettable first period, the match burst into life after the interval when Manzambi came off the bench to crash home an unstoppable first-time strike. Fellow substitute Ruben Vargas doubled their advantage with a smart right-footed finish before setting up Manzambi to settle the outcome and put himself in the adidas Golden Boot picture, FIFA reports.
The Bosnians, who had lost Tarik Muharemovic to a red card for a professional foul on Breel Embolo, pulled a goal back in stoppage time with a ferocious Ermin Mahmic strike. There was no hope of a comeback, though, and Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka restored their three-goal cushion as time ticked down with a coolly dispatched penalty.
“It was important to have all the energy on the pitch today and to find solutions. We needed to be patient and we chose to wait until the hydration break to make our tactical changes, so the opponent didn’t have a chance to react. We brought fast players and after the opponent already ran a lot, we got spaces, and we were able to convincingly decide the match,” said Murat Yakin, Switzerland coach.
(IANS)
