Yakin overcomes Manzambi loss with tactical rethink to steer Swiss into quarters
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- July 7, 2026
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Switzerland coach Murat Yakin and his players celebrate after Switzerland qualified for the quarter-finals of the World Cup beating Colombia in Vancouver on July 7, 2026. (Reuters) Shorn of one of the tournament's breakout talents, Switzerland boss Murat Yakin reshuffled his deck and performed a tactical overhaul before reaching the World Cup quarter-finals via a 4-3 penalty shootout victory over Colombia having ground out a 0-0 draw.Yakin's World Cup has been full of tactical tweaks, turns and twists, but on Tuesday he had no choice but to tear up the script after Manzambi suffered a knee injury in training the day before the game, and the coach was not found wanting.Despite starting the opening game against Qatar on the bench, the 20-year-old Manzambi made the most of his chance when it came, scoring twice against Bosnia and going on to notch a total of three goals and two assists heading into Tuesday's clash.More importantly, he made himself indispensable to Yakin's tactical plans, allowing the Swiss to sit deep and offering them a dangerous outlet for counter-attacks, as well as the ability to hold the ball up when needed.The injury forced Yakin to tear up his original game plan and once the game started it quickly became apparent that the Swiss would be happy with a stalemate, sitting back and controlling the tempo and seldom throwing players forward in attack. With Switzerland's Ruben Vargas also benched due to injury worries, Breel Embolo was left to forage on his own for much of the game against Colombia's miserly defence - unit that had conceded just one goal coming into the match."I think it's natural that it kind of goes that way in the way the game played out," Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel told reporters."We knew they were very physical, we knew they were a very good team, and they had the crowd on their side, obviously, so it was a tough game for us."TARGET MANThe Colombians had their chances but they lacked an Embolo-like figure up front, a target man who could keep a defence busy and attract defenders to open up spaces for others, and though the game statistics showed they created 15 chances, only three were on target."We knew we probably had some stretches in the game where we had to defend and stay strong mentally, and I think we did a really good job with that. And yeah, obviously we had a few players who were missing so it was a big challenge, but I think everybody did a really good job and yeah, we executed it very well," Kobel said.Switzerland's progress means that Colombia and their noisy, colourful, passionate fans leave the tournament after playing some superb football."Fortunately, God, football and life have brought us this far, and I simply want to thank the whole country and everyone who filled the stadium here," forward Luis Suarez said."Let's hope this is a major turning point, because what this team showed at this World Cup has to be viewed in a positive light." Related Story
