No wonder Newcastle United are working overtime to wrap up a deal for Johan Manzambi. The secret, if there was such a thing, is well and truly out when it comes to the 20-year-old Freiburg forward who destroyed the Algeria defence to tee up Breel Embolo for Switzerland’s opener in an ominously comfortable victory to reach the last 16. Granit Xhaka, as any good captain would, has tried to keep a lid on soaring expectations, but doing so just got that bit tougher after Switzerland recorded a win in a World Cup knockout game for the first time since 1938.
This, then, is new territory for this iteration, though the Swiss president, Guy Parmelin, proclaimed they have been in rude health for a while. Up in the VIP seats alongside Gianni Infantino, he presumably ignored dress codes by wearing a bold red cap reminiscent of the one Donald Trump, invisible so far at this tournament, has regularly donned. Rather than the loud Make America Great Again motto, Parmelin’s hat was decorated with the words: “Switzerland great since 1291”.
