Johan Manzambi is about to play in his first World Cup, a fast rise for a 20-year-old who only broke into the wider picture over the past year. The Swiss Football Association named him first in its 26-man squad, underscoring how quickly he has moved from prospect to player Murat Yakin now leans on.
For anyone searching his name now, that is the reason. Manzambi has gone from Swiss youth football to the senior Swiss national team in less than two years, and his club form at Freiburg is what forced the door open. He finished the season with five Bundesliga goals and five assists, plus two goals and two assists in the Europa League, and he did it in 47 matches. Those numbers explain why he is no longer being talked about as a future option, but as a current one.
His route was not straightforward. Born on October 14th, 2005, in Geneva to parents from Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Manzambi first wanted to be a goalkeeper before his father and brother pushed him to play outfield. He joined the SC Freiburg academy in January 2023 after coming through Servette, made ten appearances in the 3. Liga in the 2023/24 season and scored twice, then made his professional debut for Freiburg in August 2024 in a 3-0 Bundesliga win over Heidenheim. By 12 April 2025, he had his first league goal, in a 2-1 win against Borussia Monchengladbach.
That progress was not built on one lucky run. Manzambi scored Freiburg's second goal in a 3-1 win over Braga in the second leg of the Europa League semi-final, finished the campaign with seven goals in all competitions, and was named Best Young Player of the Europa League. Blerim Dzemaili summed up the mood around him bluntly: can Switzerland really afford not to play him?
There is still a gap in the story. Manzambi has ten caps and three goals for the Swiss national team, but it is not yet clear whether he will start at the World Cup. Even so, the scale of his rise is already obvious. Three years ago he was known mainly inside Swiss youth football circles; now his market value is estimated at 50 million euros, he has drawn interest from PSG and Manchester United, and he says playing in the World Cup is a childhood dream. The next step is no longer about whether he belongs. It is about how much of Switzerland's tournament he will be asked to carry.
