The Switzerland national football team received a heavy blow hours before its expected confrontation with the Colombia national football team in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, after it was confirmed that young midfielder Johan Manzambi was absent due to a knee injury.
The Swiss newspaper “Blick” reported that Manzambi was injured during the team’s final training session before the match, after he collapsed from the injury without any contact with one of his teammates during one of the training sessions, which raised the concern of the technical and medical staff. Immediately.
The newspaper explained that medical examinations, which included an MRI, confirmed the player’s knee injury, making him officially excluded from facing Colombia, in a poignant loss for the Swiss national team before the start of the qualifying rounds.
Manzambi’s absence comes at a difficult time, after he performed at distinguished levels during the tournament, where he succeeded in scoring three goals and assisting two goals during four matches, to emerge as one of the most important elements of the Swiss national team in its World Cup journey.
And it did not stop. Switzerland's troubles when Manzambi was injured, as doubts still surround the readiness of the duo Rubin Vargas and Djibril Sow, after they left the same training session before its end, which puts the technical staff before a major challenge before the decisive confrontation against the Colombian national team.