Switzerland ahead of round of 16 against Colombia: Manzambi out, Córdoba injured

The day before, Yakin had confirmed that three players had had to cut short training a day before the match. The coach spoke of a «grossen Verlust» should the three not be able to play. «Sie müssen 100 Prozent bei Kräften und bereit sein», Yakin added. It was pointless to bring injured players into the match. «Klar wäre es schmerzhaft, wenn die Spieler, die das Training abgebrochen haben, nicht dabei sein könnten», he stressed.

The Swiss had secured first place in the group stage with a 4-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina and a 2-1 win over Canada. They then beat Algeria 2-0 in the round of 32. The team appeared «sehr abgeklärt und reif» in that match, as observers unanimously noted. While experts spoke of the team's class, Yakin, Granit Xhaka, and Breel Embolo came across as consistently self-critical in their TV interviews.

Yakin under pressure

Three and a half years ago, at the World Cup in Qatar, Yakin had been forced to do without several sick players in the round of 16 against Portugal (1:6). Now the injury witch threatens to foil his plans once again. Captain Xhaka had emphasized in the preparation: «Wir sind alle genug alt. Wir haben uns gesagt, dass wir alle 10 bis 15 Prozent mehr machen müssen.»

On the Colombian side, there is also bad news. Coach Néstor Lorenzo confirmed one day before the round of 16 that striker Jhon Córdoba can no longer play in the remainder of the tournament. «Er steht uns leider nicht mehr zur Verfügung», said Lorenzo. The 33-year-old center forward had sustained a muscle injury during the round of 32 win over Ghana; according to the Colombian newspaper «El Tiempo», it is a muscle fiber tear in the left adductor muscle.

Córdoba's injury hurts Colombia

Córdoba played in Germany for FSV Mainz and 1. FC Köln, and has been under contract with FC Krasnodar in Russia since summer 2021. Looking ahead to the match, a player said that while Colombia would have many fans in the stadium, the team's own fans back home in Switzerland would give them strength.

The Swiss are closely observing the travel strain on their opponents. Colombia has covered more than 10,000 flight kilometers across multiple time zones and climate zones for the four World Cup matches played so far – from Mexico City via Guadalajara, Miami, and Kansas City to Vancouver. «Viele Spieler sind bei europäischen Topklubs unter Vertrag, zudem ist das Team sehr eingespielt», it was said from the Swiss camp.

Belgium's surprise without De Bruyne

Set pieces, still a strength of the Swiss in World Cup qualifying, have not been a factor in the tournament so far. Both Yakin and Nico Elvedi were asked about this situation. A Colombian player said: «Wir fürchten, es ist eine ernsthafte Verletzung.» Yakin judged the upcoming opponent: «Sie haben einen ganz anderen Spielstil.»

Away from the Swiss match, the World Cup is making further headlines. Belgium's coach Rudi Garcia caused a surprise when he left Kevin De Bruyne on the bench for 90 minutes and his team still beat the USA 4-1. Asked why he had not brought on the long-time star player, Garcia said: «Wir haben Kevin nicht gebraucht.» Belgium's quarterfinal opponent is European champion Spain; the match will be played on Friday (9 p.m. CEST) in Inglewood near Los Angeles.

Belgium is also worried about midfielder Amadou Onana ahead of the quarterfinal. «Ich befürchte, Amadou fällt für das nächste Spiel im Turnier aus. Wir fürchten, es ist eine ernsthafte Verletzung», said Garcia. He added: «Das sind keine guten Nachrichten für ihn und für uns als Team.» Looking ahead to the rest of the tournament, Garcia added: «Aber jetzt wollen wir auch ins Halbfinale.»

Argentina ahead of the Egypt duel

There is good news from the Argentine camp: Lionel Messi will start against Egypt despite the strains of the round of 16 extra time. «Er wird wieder spielen», said coach Lionel Scaloni. «Ihm geht es gut, obwohl er 120 Minuten im Alter von 39 Jahren gespielt hat», said Scaloni. «Wir müssen die Konter, die wir gegen Kap Verde zugelassen haben, unbedingt vermeiden», the coach warned. Argentina had only narrowly made it past Cape Verde 3-2 in the round of 32, needing extra time.

FIFA has meanwhile commented in detail for the first time on its controversial decision to suspend the ban on US striker Folarin Balogun on probation after his red card in the round of 32 against Bosnia-Herzegovina. In 13 paragraphs, FIFA explained the procedures from its perspective just before kickoff of the match against Belgium. Balogun himself said: «Natürlich kontrovers. Wir haben die Entscheidung akzeptiert, als ich die Rote Karte gesehen habe, und wir haben die Entscheidung akzeptiert, als uns gesagt wurde, dass ich spielen kann.» He added: «Wir haben das Viertelfinale erreicht, das ist gut.» The USA lost 1-4 to Belgium, however.

Racism scandal involving Mbappé

Racist insults against French striker Kylian Mbappé following the heated World Cup round of 16 match between Paraguay and France (0-1) caused a scandal. Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla de Boccia had called Mbappé a «Trottel» on social media and written, among other things, that he was a «kolonisierter Kameruner» playing the tough Frenchman, «voller Minderwertigkeitskomplexe, neureich, arrogant und hässlich». French federation president Philippe Diallo called the remarks «strafbar» and «verwerflich». The federation announced legal action. Diallo said people like Amarilla de Boccia would «niemals die Freiheit lassen, ihren Hass und ihren Rassismus in der Welt zu verbreiten».

Mbappé himself wrote on X, among other things: «Sie sind eine verachtenswerte Frau und unwürdig Ihres Amtes.» He also announced: «Und wir freuen uns auf Salah.» FIFA said in a statement that the remarks were «verabscheuungswürdig und inakzeptabel».

The 2026 World Cup is the first tournament with 48 teams and twelve preliminary round groups. The ball has been rolling since June 11 for 38 days in the USA, Mexico, and Canada. The mood in the Swiss camp ahead of the round of 16 against Colombia is tense. The right lessons have been drawn from the difficult initial phase – the 1-1 draw against Qatar in the opening match had caused unrest, it was said. At the time, Yakin had said the team had to come «auf den Boden der Realität». Now the next step is to follow against Colombia.