Manzambi out as Switzerland face Colombia in World Cup last 16
Manzambi out, Colombia awaits
Your knockout curse meets its next test Tuesday night. Switzerland face Colombia in the World Cup Round of 16 at 22:00 CEST, and Johan Manzambi will miss it with a knee injury (2) (4).
Manzambi has been a difference-maker in this tournament, and losing him hours before kickoff stings (4). Granit Xhaka kept his message steady: "We have grown together, experienced a lot, and have enough experience handling big occasions" (2).
Colombia bring Luis Díaz and James Rodríguez into the clash. Gregor Kobel, Nico Elvedi, Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodriguez, Remo Freuler, Denis Zakaria, and Rubén Vargas are all in the matchday picture for Switzerland (5).
Switzerland reached this stage as group winners with seven points. The Round of 16 has never been kind, no Swiss men's team has gone beyond it since 1954.
Fan reactions
The mood on Reddit is anxious. Multiple reports claiming both Manzambi and Rubén Vargas are out sent concern through the match thread, with one user calling it a brutal double blow before the biggest match of the tournament. The consensus: without Manzambi's spark, the attack looks thin, and the pressure on Xhaka to drag Switzerland through just got heavier.
Sources
- 2. fussballnationalmannschaft.net — WM Achtelfinale: Schweiz will heute gegen Kolumbien den Achtelfinal-Fluch brechen
- 4. t-online.de — Schweiz droht im WM-Achtelfinale Ausfall von Johan Manzambi
- 5. fussballnationalmannschaft.net — Schweiz – Kolumbien Übertragung: Wer überträgt heute das WM 2026 Achtelfinale? Fußball heute ARD live