No wonder Newcastle United are working overtime to wrap up a deal for Johan Manzambi. The secret, if indeed it ever existed, 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 the Swiss recorded victory in a knockout game at the World Cup for the first time since 1938.
“He’s had a great tournament, keep your eyes on him,” came the pre-match message from the stadium announcer accompanying images of Manzambi limbering up on the giant cuboid screen dangling from the roof. The same display detailed Manzambi as sixth in Fifa’s jazzy power rankings for attacking, behind a star-studded cast led by Kylian Mbappé and including Michael Olise, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane. Algeria, however, did not heed the warning.
