World Cup: Switzerland’s bench is key to topping Bosnia and Herzegovina

INGLEWOOD — Calling on his bench to make a difference in a scoreless contest, Swiss head coach Murat Yakin made all the right decisions.

Scoreless against Bosnia and Herzegovina for nearly 75 minutes on Thursday, Yakin’s changes following a hydration break broke the game wide open, as Switzerland defeated their European counterparts 4-1 in the second stage of Group B play in the FIFA World Cup.

Swiss midfielder Johan Manzambi broke through with little more than a quarter hour to go, slamming a chest-high volley past goaltender Nikola Vasilj to end the deadlock.

Bosnia and Herzegovina went down a man in the 80th minute when defender Tarik Muharemovic was shown a straight red card for a foul just outside the box.

The combination of being up a goal and having more space to operate against an opponent that seemed as if it would have been happy to depart with a 0-0 draw set off a flurry of offense.

Entering the match at the same time as Manzambi, forward Ruben Vargas’s first-time hit off a feed from starter Breel Embolo found the inside of the far post four minutes after having the man advantage.

Manzambi made it 3-0 in the 90th minute with his second goal of the match when Vargas cut the ball back to the middle of the box. The SC Freiburg midfielder tucked it away with his left foot.

The Bosnians avoided a shutout when, off a corner kick in the 93rd minute, another substitute, Ermin Mamich, blasted a volley through traffic from the top of the box that beat Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.

The only match starter to get on the board Thursday in front of an announced crowd of 70,026 was Swiss captain Granit Xhaka, who converted a penalty kick in the 96th minute preceding the final whistle by Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro.

Prior to Manzambi’s opening goal, the game unfolded like a grinding stalemate.

Neither nation managed more than a shot on goal through 45 minutes.

Switzerland more than doubled Bosnia and Herzegovina’s possession in the first half, but did little with it as their fellow UEFA opponent defended with numbers in hopes of pouncing on counterattacks.

Shots in the 10th and and 23rd minutes were struck just wide by the Swiss.

The Bosnians made even less of the few opportunities they manufactured. In the 32nd minute, 40-year-old captain Edin Džeko received the ball in the box and his lofted cross to the far post was whiffed by midfielder Benjamin Tahirovic.

Before the halftime break, Bosnia wasted a corner kick it had earned off a well-worked exchange into the box.

Switzerland’s stress level after drawing Qatar in its opening match should find some relief ahead of the final group stage match versus Canada in Vancouver on June 24.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, which drew Canada in its opener, meets Qatar in Seattle at the same time.

Group B sends its second-place finisher to L.A. on June 28 to battle No. 2 from Group A in a Round of 32 clash.

More to come on this story.

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