By Our Man in Los Angeles
MURAT YAKIN pulled off a tactical masterclass from the bench to leave Bosnia broken and bleeding under the Hollywood lights.
For over an hour, this tense World Cup clash in front of a raucous crowd of 70,026 fans in Los Angeles was a total snooze-fest.
A dreadful, cagey first half saw just seven shots produced between both sides, generating a pathetic expected goals (xG) rating of just 0.24. Bosnia’s veteran icon Edin Džeko spent more time arguing than attacking, picking up a yellow card in the 61st minute as the physical battle threatened to boil over.
But then came the spark. Enter 20-year-old wonderkid Johan Manzambi.
The Freiburg starlet had been on the pitch for less than three minutes when he etched his name into World Cup folklore. In the 74th minute, fellow substitute Rubén Vargas whipped a ball in, Bosnia half-cleared, and Manzambi rocketed an outrageous volley straight into the roof of the net. Delirium for the Swiss!
Bosnia completely imploded just six minutes later. A desperate Tarik Muharemović panicked as Breel Embolo raced clear, wiping out the forward to earn a straight, fully deserved red card.
Against ten men, the Swiss went hunting for blood. Their second-half performance was lightyears ahead of the first, unleashing nine shots with six hitting the target, racking up a rampant 1.94 xG. In the 84th minute, the brilliant Rubén Vargas went from provider to executioner, curling a majestic low finish past Nikola Vasilj to double the advantage.
The Manzambi show wasn’t finished either. In the 90th minute, Vargas turned provider yet again, sliding a lovely ball across the box for the youngster to tap home his second of the evening. At just 20 years and 247 days old, Manzambi became the youngest player in World Cup history to score a brace off the bench.
Bosnia managed a minor consolation deep in stoppage time when substitute Ermin Mahmić squeezed a powerful effort through a crowded box to make it 3-1, sparking brief celebrations from their passionate traveling support.
But the final, emphatic say belonged to the ultimate master of midfield dark arts: Granit Xhaka. In the 97th minute, Djibril Sow was hacked down inside the area. Up stepped the captain. With ice running through his veins, Xhaka ruthlessly dispatched the penalty to seal an emphatic 4-1 victory.
The Swiss roll on, sitting pretty at the top of Group B. Bosnia? They’re heading back to the drawing board.
