Two decades later, the "internationalized" Swiss team tops its group again.

Written by Han Bing. For Swiss football, the USA-Canada-Mexico World Cup is historic. Relying on the goal and assist of Manzambi, a midfielder of Angolan and DR Congolese descent, Switzerland beat host Canada 2-1, winning Group C with 7 points (2 wins, 1 draw). It is their first time in 20 years to finish first in a group and win consecutive World Cup matches. This is also Switzerland's second instance of topping a group and achieving consecutive wins in major tournaments (World Cup + European Championship). In 2021, although Switzerland won two straight matches in the European Championship (the final group game and the round of 16), the round of 16 match against France went to a penalty shootout after a draw in regular time.

Switzerland has advanced past the group stage in four consecutive World Cups—a feat only matched by France among European teams. Including the European Championship, they have progressed from the group stage in seven straight major tournaments, second only to France (8 times) among European nations, showcasing remarkable consistency. In the same period, Spain, Portugal, England, Croatia (2014), Germany (2018 and 2022), and Belgium (2022) have all been eliminated in the group stage, while the Netherlands even missed the 2016 European Championship and 2018 World Cup.

In the battle for first place in Group B, Switzerland entered the match trailing Canada on goal difference. While a draw would have been enough to advance, finishing first meant staying in Vancouver to face a third-placed team from another group, allowing them to rest ahead of the round of 32 or even round of 16—clearly a perk designed for the host nation. Second place would send them to sweltering Los Angeles to face a stronger second-place team from Group A, and even if they advanced, their round-of-16 opponent could be a tough Morocco or the Netherlands. Having reached the knockout stage in six consecutive major tournaments over the past 12 years and being firmly established as a second-tier world team, Switzerland needed to fight for this advantage.

Canada only needed a draw to secure top spot, but coach Jesse Marsch did not field star player Alphonso Davies, drawing media and fan criticism. After the match, Marsch said Davies was not fully recovered.

Canada launched aggressive attacks, recording 13 shots with 7 on target—nearly double Switzerland's numbers—but Switzerland, with greater determination, proved more efficient. In the first minute of the second half, Manzambi crossed from the right, and Dominican-descent winger Vargas scored at the far post. In the 57th minute, Cameroonian-descent forward Embolo assisted Manzambi to make it 2-0.

Manzambi (aged 20 years 253 days) became the youngest player to both score and assist in a World Cup match since Memphis Depay (20 years 125 days, 2014 World Cup). In the 21st century, he also ranks third among U21 players for World Cup goals, behind only Kylian Mbappé (4 goals in 2019) and Thomas Müller (2010).

Although Canada substitute Promise David pulled one back in the 76th minute, Switzerland held on for the win. In fact, if Canadian goalkeeper Kébé hadn't made back-to-back saves against Embolo and Manzambi in the 11th minute, Switzerland would have scored much earlier.

As the host, Canada stayed in Vancouver for their second group match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Switzerland had to travel from Toronto to Los Angeles and then to Vancouver—covering over 5,200 km in 12 days. Still, quality proved decisive. Previously, Switzerland had never won a World Cup group match against a host nation in three attempts.

Switzerland is the most "internationalized" team at this World Cup: 15 of their 26 players were born abroad or are of immigrant origin, representing 15 different countries and regions. These players come from Africa, Eastern Europe, North and Central America, and even Western Europe, making Switzerland's squad the most diverse in terms of origins. In this match, only three of the starting 11 were native Swiss: goalkeeper Kobel, defender Elvedi, and midfielder Freuler. Switzerland's rise has been decisively driven by this growing internationalization.

Although Canada lost the chance to top the group, they have advanced past the group stage for the first time in 40 years—a historic achievement. In this World Cup, all three host nations advanced from their groups, leaving South Africa (2010) and Qatar (2022) as the only hosts ever to fail to do so.

In the other match, Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Qatar 3-1 to secure three vital points. With 4 points from three games, Bosnia has already outperformed Scotland (3 points in Group C) and the Group I match between Senegal and Iraq (both on 0 points heading into their final game). In Group D (Australia vs Paraguay) and Group J (Austria vs Algeria), both third-placed teams have 3 points and can at most reach 4, but their goal differences are inferior to Bosnia's. Bosnia has also achieved its first-ever advancement from the World Cup group stage in history. Meanwhile, Qatar, which held Switzerland to a draw in their opening match, suffered a second consecutive defeat and became the second Asian team (after Jordan) to be eliminated from the tournament.