Johan Manzambi
Personal information
Date of birth (2005-10-14) 14 October 2005 (age 20)
Place of birth Geneva, Switzerland
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
SC Freiburg
Number 44
Youth career
–2023 Servette
2023 SC Freiburg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2024– SC Freiburg II 20 (3)
2024– SC Freiburg 38 (7)
International career‡
2023 Switzerland U18 7 (0)
2023–2024 Switzerland U19 11 (0)
2024– Switzerland U20 5 (0)
2025– Switzerland 14 (5)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16 May 2026
‡ National team caps and goals as of 18 June 2026

Johan Manzambi (born 14 October 2005) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club SC Freiburg and the Switzerland national team.

Early life

Manzambi was born on 14 October 2005 in Geneva, Switzerland. He started playing football at the age of four.[1] His parents are from Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[2]

Club career

As a youth player, Manzambi joined the youth academy of Swiss side Servette. In 2023, he joined the youth academy of German Bundesliga side SC Freiburg and was promoted to the club's reserve team in 2024 before being promoted to the first team the same year. On 21 August 2024, he debuted for them during a 3–0 away loss to 1. FC Heidenheim in the league.[3] He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 away win over Borussia Mönchengladbach on 12 April 2025.[4]

Manzambi became a regular starting player for Freiburg in the 2025–26 season, making 47 appearances and recording 16 goal involvements in all competitions.[5]

On 7 May 2026, he scored the second goal for Freiburg in a 3–1 win over Braga in the Europa League semi-final second leg, helping his club reach the final by winning 4–3 on aggregate.[6] He was eventually named the Europa League Young Player of the Season after the team finished runner-up to Aston Villa.[7]

International career

After being capped for Switzerland at every level from under-18 to under-21, Manzambi made his debut for the for Switzerland senior team in a 4–2 win over Mexico on 7 June 2025.[8] Three days later, he scored his first senior international goal for in a 4–0 friendly win over the United States.[9] He went on to appear in all six of the team's 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, scoring in both the home and away fixtures against Sweden.[10][11]

In May 2026, Manzambi was named to Switzerland's squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[12] He made his World Cup debut as a substitute for Dan Ndoye in the team's opening Group B fixture against Qatar.[13] On 18 June, he scored his first two World Cup goals in a 4–1 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina, becoming the youngest Swiss player to score a brace at a FIFA World Cup at 20 years and 247 days and the only Swiss player to score multiple goals coming off the bench as a substitute.[14]

Style of play

Manzambi plays as a midfielder and is right-footed. Swiss newspaper Blick wrote in 2024 that he is a "fast box-to-box player who is dynamic and energetic".[15]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 20 May 2026
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League DFB-Pokal Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
SC Freiburg II 2023–24 3. Liga 10 2 — — 10 2
2024–25 Regionalliga Südwest 10 1 — — 10 1
Total 20 3 — — 20 3
SC Freiburg 2024–25 Bundesliga 11 2 0 0 — 11 2
2025–26 Bundesliga 27 5 5 0 15[a] 2 47 7
Total 38 7 5 0 15 2 58 9
Career total 58 10 5 0 15 2 78 12
  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 18 June 2026[16]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Switzerland 2025 8 3
2026 6 2
Total 14 5
Scores and results list Switzerland goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Manzambi goal.[16]
List of international goals scored by Johan Manzambi
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 10 June 2025 Geodis Park, Nashville, United States 2  United States 4–0 4–0 Friendly
2 10 October 2025 Strawberry Arena, Solna, Sweden 5  Sweden 2–0 2–0 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
3 15 November 2025 Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland 7  Sweden 4–1 4–1 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification
4 18 June 2026 SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, United States 14  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–0 4–1 2026 FIFA World Cup
5 3–0

Honours

SC Freiburg

  • UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2025–26[17]

Individual

  • UEFA Europa League Young Player of the Season: 2025–26[7]

References

  1. ^ ""Genau am richtigen Ort"" ["Exactly in the right place"] (in German). SC Freiburg. 20 January 2025. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  2. ^ "Johan Manzambi: Who is Freiburg and Switzerland's young midfield marvel?". www.bundesliga.com. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  3. ^ "L'espoir genevois Johan Manzambi a fait ses débuts en Bundesliga" [Geneva hopeful Johan Manzambi made his Bundesliga debut] (in French). 22 September 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  4. ^ "Johan Manzambi's late strike seals crucial Freiburg win over Borussia Mönchengladbach". Bundesliga. 12 April 2025.
  5. ^ "Football Extra's Dream Signings: Bournemouth". BBC Sport. 2 June 2026. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  6. ^ "Freiburg 3-1 Braga (agg 4-3) highlights: Freiburg overturn away defeat to reach first Europa League final". UEFA. 7 May 2026.
  7. ^ a b "Johan Manzambi named 2025/26 UEFA Europa League Revelation of the Season". UEFA. 21 May 2026.
  8. ^ "A 19-year-old outshines everyone - the Nati scores for the USA victory". Swisscom blue News. 11 June 2025. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  9. ^ "United States 0–4 Switzerland". ESPN. 10 June 2025.
  10. ^ "Sweden 0–2 Switzerland". ESPN. 10 October 2025.
  11. ^ "Die Nati schlägt Schweden klar und das WM-Ticket liegt bereit". SRF (in German). 16 November 2025. Retrieved 19 June 2026.
  12. ^ "Männer-Nationalteam: Murat Yakins Aufgebot mit 18 WM-erfahrenen Spielern" [Men's National Team: Murat Yakin's roster features 18 players with World Cup experience] (in German). Swiss Football Association. 20 May 2026. Archived from the original on 21 May 2026. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  13. ^ "Qatar stun Switzerland to snatch first ever World Cup point". BBC Sport. 13 June 2026.
  14. ^ "Super sub Manzambi sends Swiss soaring". FIFA. 18 June 2026.
  15. ^ "Drei junge Schweizer auf dem Weg, die Bundesliga zu erobern" [Three young Swiss on their way to conquering the Bundesliga] (in German). Blick. 13 July 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
  16. ^ a b Johan Manzambi at National-Football-Teams.com
  17. ^ "Freiburg 0-3 Aston Villa: Rampant Villans win Europa League for the first time". UEFA. 20 May 2026. Retrieved 20 May 2026.