KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Switzerland head coach Murat Yakin confirmed that attacking midfielder Johan Manzambi won’t be available for Saturday night’s FIFA World Cup quarterfinal against Argentina.
Manzambi missed their round-of-16 win over Colombia with a knee injury, and it continues to keep him out of action.
His injury is a costly one for the Swiss attack. The 20-year-old was a breakout star in the group stage — in his 200 minutes on the pitch in the World Cup, he scored three goals with two assists, and Switzerland averaged 3.6 goals (and 2.2 xG) per 90 minutes.
In 280 minutes with Manzambi on the sideline, Switzerland have scored just once and have averaged 1.4 xG per 90.
“Unfortunately, Johan Manzambi’s injury hurts us enormously,” Yakin said. “It was a real shock. He had momentum on his side. You could see the joy with which he was playing and also how his teammates responded. You could see how well everything had been functioning during this tournament. Unfortunately, he can’t play.”
Manzambi’s two goals against Bosnia-Herzegovina turned Switzerland’s tournament around, and without him in the last round they had to survive a 0-0 draw over 120 minutes against Colombia.
“That’s very painful, but we’ll absorb that as a team,” Yakin said.
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Switzerland have yet to defeat Argentina in their seven meetings. This is their first match since Argentina’s 1-0 victory in extra time in the round of 16 of the 2014 World Cup. Two current Swiss starters, midfielder and captain Granit Xhaka and left back Ricardo Rodríguez, played in that match, which was decided by a Ángel Di María goal, assisted by Lionel Messi, in the 118th minute.
“After 12 years we’re standing here again — with Ricky, with myself,” Xhaka said. “We know that this is a new, completely differentz Switzerland, with a different mentality, with a different generation. Football in Switzerland has improved.”
After getting eliminated in the round of 16 in four of the last five World Cups, Switzerland are into the quarterfinals for the first time since 1954. A win would earn them their first ever semifinal berth.
