Switzerland, July 11: Coach Murat Yakin admitted this during a press conference on July 11th in Kansas City. He stated: "Unfortunately, Johan Manzambi's injury has hurt us deeply. It's a real shock."
Manzambi was Switzerland's best attacking player until he suffered a knee injury. In just 200 minutes on the pitch at the World Cup, the 20-year-old scored 3 goals and provided 2 assists, making Switzerland, a team not known for its strong attack, much more versatile.
Manzambi missed the round of 16 match against Colombia. Coach Murat Yakin had high hopes that he would recover in time to return for the quarter-final against Argentina. However, all hope was dashed when the player was unable to train the day before the match, forcing Coach Yakin to drop him from the squad.
Manzambi's absence is bad news for Switzerland, but good news for Argentina, as the defending champions clearly have one less major concern in front of their goal.
"Manzambi is very motivated. You can see the joy he has when he plays, as well as the way his teammates react. You can see how well things have worked throughout this tournament. We tried everything we could to get him back. Unfortunately, he couldn't play. That's painful, but we'll come to terms with it as a team," Coach Yakin concluded.
Manzambi, currently playing for SC Freiburg (Germany), has reached an agreement to move to Newcastle in the English Premier League after the World Cup campaign, with an expected transfer fee of up to $60 million.Stop Messi
Switzerland's captain, veteran midfielder Granit Xhaka, admitted: "The task of stopping Messi for the entire 90 minutes of the match or more is impossible. But we are a close-knit team, and we 'will be smart' to know what to do to limit Messi."
"This is a very difficult task. We know all of Messi's capabilities. However, as I said, we have to be very smart. We have to play tightly, close off the spaces, not give him too much room to maneuver. Obviously, we will try to play in our positions. When we have the ball, he won't be able to operate much," Xhaka emphasized.Meanwhile, coach Yakin asserted: "I have many solutions to stop Messi, who is currently the top scorer in the tournament with 8 goals. Tomorrow, on the field, we will play as a team. We will try to pass the ball, press high against Argentina, the defending champions. We will try to perform on the field. We can talk a lot, but ultimately, that has to be shown on the pitch. And we have our own solutions."
Midfielder Xhaka also urged Swiss fans to "keep dreaming" ahead of the quarter-final match against Argentina. Xhaka affirmed that Switzerland's goal is to defeat the defending champions and reach the World Cup semi-finals for the first time.
"From the fans' perspective, keep dreaming. I'm a dreamer myself, and dreams can come true. And if we want to achieve our dreams, you need to work, you need to sweat, you need to give 100%. And sometimes you need to do something new. You really need to push your limits if you want to beat Argentina," Xhaka emphasized.
Surce: Than Nien Newspaper
