Yohan Manzambi's World Cup breakout lifts Switzerland and boosts his profile

Yohan Manzambi delivered the defining moment of Switzerland’s World Cup campaign in Los Angeles, where the Swiss trailed Bosnia 1:1 before the 20-year-old came off the bench after the cooling break and scored twice in a 4:1 win. His brace was the first two-goal performance of his career, and at 20 years and 247 days he became the youngest player in World Cup history to score a substitute’s brace.

Manzambi was named man of the match after being involved in three of Switzerland’s four goals. The victory gave Switzerland its first win of the tournament and kept it in contention for first place in Group 2 ahead of its final game against Canada. After the match at SoFi Stadium, he said, “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight, I fulfilled a childhood dream and this is probably the biggest moment of my career.”

The performance immediately drew praise abroad. Germany’s 2014 World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger said, “Manzambi is a player who knows what to do on the pitch in every square meter. He is a complete player, he runs a lot, has excellent technique, dribbles brilliantly and knows how to score.”

Manzambi was born in Geneva to an Angolan-Congolese family. As a child he admired former Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer and often volunteered to play in goal for neighborhood teams, but his father pushed him toward midfield and attack. Before turning 18, Freiburg signed him from Servette Geneva, and he first played for the reserve side in Germany’s third and fourth divisions. After scoring his first Bundesliga goal against Borussia Mönchengladbach at the end of the 2024/25 season, his rise accelerated, and Swiss media now describe him as the country’s biggest talent since Breel Embolo.