Switzerland’s want-to-be keeper who’s now their third youngest World Cup goalscorer | OneFootball

Ollie Whitmore, Chief football news reporter

Switzerland were locked at 0-0 against Boznia & Herzegovina, and off the bench to save them was Johan Manzambi – who once dreamt of being a goalkeeper – to volley home the goal to send them on their way to topping Group B.

The 20-year-old idolised German icon Manuel Neuer in his youth and wanted to make it right to the very top at the complete opposite end of the pitch. Now, he’s become Switzerland’s third youngest scorer in World Cup history.

In what was beginning to look like a repeat of his country’s frustrating encounter with Qatar last week, in which they racked up 26 shots and over three expected goals but had to rely on Breel Embolo from the penalty spot to get up and running.

Having surrendered that lead, it was Freiberg’s Manzambi who opened the floodgates for fellow substitute Ruben Vargas to slot home the second, before the 20-year-old added his second of the game to seal the deal.

Granit Xhaka would become inspired by his teammate’s form in front of goal, dispatching a stoppage time penalty for an emphatic 4-1 victory for which he and his side have Manzambi to thank.

Or perhaps that should really go to his family.

It took the convincing of his father and brother for him to take the courageous out from in between the sticks, and he wouldn’t quite have imagined the huge impact it would have on his country’s World Cup campaign years down the line.

Switzerland’s number nine shared with the.team.football on Instagram just how much it would mean helping his country through their sixth straight appearance at the World Cup, just not how he might have thought growing up.

“As a kid, I grew up watching this tournament,” he said, “and now being able to represent the country where I was born, in front of my family, means a lot.

“For me, it means a lot to be able to participate in such a big tournament that unites the whole country.”

His international team’s manager Murat Yakin knew full well what to expect. In his own words, the versatile Manzambi “has this incredible hunger to score goals that I have rarely seen”.

The Swiss striker is so versatile, in fact, that he never quite lost his trade as he progressed further and further up the field: from goalkeeper to defensive midfielder, to beyond the halfway line, and even out wide.

According to Fotmob, the 20-year-old can play in all five of these positions – a gift that is so rarely seen in professional footballers.

Manzambi scored five goals and assisted four times in the Bundesliga this season, starting 26 matches and solidifying himself as part of Freiberg’s core that powered their way to the Europa Conference League under Julian Schuster.

One of the most exciting young talents in Europe, his moment to show what he was truly capable of in front of goal arrived and he seized it with both hands to catapault the Swiss into pole position to qualify for the round of 32.

As far as his family can be concerned, it’s one of the biggest ‘I told you so’ moments that the sport has ever seen.

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