Switzerland beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 4-1 in Los Angeles.
The worst incident in the first 73 minutes came when 20-year-old Johan Manzambi hit a volley 166 seconds after his introduction, before Tarik Muharemovic was shown a straight red for catching Breel Embolo on the backheel as the last man.
Embolo then joined another team-mate, Ruben Vargas, to fire a first-time shot past Nikola Vasilj to make it 2-0 and it was three minutes into the 90th minute when Freiburg midfielder Manzambi curled into the roof with his second foot.
However, there were still more steps to be taken.
Playing for his country for only the third time, Ermin Mahmic brought the game down when he beat Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel with a beautiful volley from just inside the box.
But the three-goal cushion was restored with one last kick of the game when Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka rolled over from the spot after Djibril Sow had been brought down by Amar Memic.
Highlights from LA…
- 56: CLOSE! Dan Ndoye’s brilliant bicycle kick was deflected high, but later ruled offside.
- 69: SAVE! Amar Dedic’s powerful strike from 25 yards is pushed away by Gregor Kobel.
- 74: GOAL! Johan Manzambi hit a volley 166 seconds after he came in to put Switzerland ahead.
- 80: RED CARD! Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Tarik Muharemovic was shown a straight red for a tackle on Breel Embolo.
- 84: GOAL! Ruben Vargas went ahead 2-0.
- 88: OPPORTUNITY! Vargas lifts Embolo, but the cross will not reach him.
- 90: GOAL! Vargas changes provider by going back to the line for Manzambi to put in his second.
- 90+3: GOAL! Ermin Mahmic’s stunning volley gets Bosnia-Herzegovina on the score sheet.
- 90+7: GOAL! Granit Xhaka grabs a big win by rolling over from the penalty spot after a foul on Djibril Sow.
Analysis: A star is born? Manzambi’s amazing influence
Sky Sports’ Dan Long:
Despite flourishing in the first 20 minutes or so, Switzerland struggled with any sort of attacking cohesion for much of the game in LA. They had the ball, but Bosnia-Herzegovina were dangerous at half-time. A change was needed.
Murat Yakin’s replacements changed the game – and Johan Manzambi became the star. After 166 seconds coming on, he hit a superb strike into the net to open the scoring, making it 3-0 in the 90th minute.
But not only that, he had the most shots on target for Swiss players, and ranked high in both the most opposition boxes taken (5) and dribbles (4). Only two Swiss players managed his five duels.
Manzambi – who was named Europa League young player of the season for his efforts in helping Freiburg reach the final – certainly gave Yakin something to think about when he called up his team for the final group game against Canada on Wednesday.
