Switzerland Thrash Bosnia To Move Top Of Gr…

(Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Switzerland edged closer to advancing to the FIFA World Cup knockout stages with a 4-1 win over Bosnia-Herzagovina on Thursday night.

Fixture: Switzerland v Bosnia-Herzagovina
Score: 4-1
Goalscorers: Manzambi (74′, 90′), Vargas (84′), Xhaka (90+8′)/ Mahmić (93′)

The Swiss came into the clash looking for maximum points after drawing 1-1 with Qatar, who scored a late equaliser in stoppage time while Bonsia drew 1-1 with co-hosts Canada in their opening game.

Bosnia decided to hand a start to veteran striker Edin Dzeko, who became only the fourth outfield player after Roger Mila, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric to feature in a World Cup game at the age of 40.

Switzerland dominated possession in the early stages of the encounter but they were let down by their decision-making in the final third, which was quite a disappointment as striker Bree Embolo was a handful for the Bonsia defence to deal with.

The Bosnians did grew into the game in the latter stages, but they were unable to trouble the Switzerland shot-stopper until the 38th minute when Amar Memic’s effort from distance was kept out by Gregor Kobel as the first half ended goalless.

The Swiss carried that dominance into the second half and they nearly took the lead in spectacular fashion on 55 minutes when Granit Xhaka picked out Dan Ndoye, who connected with a superb bicycle kick which forced goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj into a superb save.

Switzerland eventually got the breakthrough in the 74th minute when substitute Johan Manzambi made the perfect impact two minutes after his arrival by pouncing on a loose ball and sending a powerful volley beyond Nikola Vasilj.

It went from bad to worse for Bosnia six minutes later when they were reduced to ten after defender Tarik Muharemovic was shown a straight red card for bringing down Embolo, who was through on goal.

Switzerland took full advantage of the numbers and doubled their lead on 84 minutes courtesy of a composed finish from fellow substitute Ruben Vargas, before Manzambi completed his brace for the Europeans on 90 minutes with a composed finish.

Bosnia did manage to grab a consolation minutes later when Ermin Mahmić found the back of the net with a superb volley from the edge of the box, but the Swiss had the final say when captain Xhaka rounded off the scoring from the penalty spot.

Next Fixtures:

Switzerland: Canada

Bosnia: Qatar

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