Johan Manzambi and Ruben Vargas came off the bench to secure a late 4-1 win for Switzerland over 10-man Bosnia-Herzegovina at the World Cup.

Switzerland had struggled to break down their opponents, but their substitutes made immediate impacts, with Manzambi also playing his part in Tarik Muharemovic's sending-off.

Switzerland struggled for clear-cut openings in the first half, with Dan Ndoye drilling a low shot into the side netting and Remo Freuler doing the same shortly after.

Bosnia-Herzegovina were then indebted to Vasilj at the start of the second half, as he brilliantly parried Ndoye's overhead kick out for a corner – not knowing the 25-year-old was offside – before also stretching to keep out Breel Embolo's tight-angled header.

Bosnia-Herzegovina attempted to up the pressure again following the second-half hydration break, with Amar Dedic being given too much space as he drilled a low shot too close to Gregor Kobel.

But Manzambi soon turned the tide in Switzerland's favour, scoring just under three minutes after he was brought on. 

Vargas' first cross was blocked, and his second was only half-cleared, but Manzambi watched it drop through the air to meet it on the volley, rocketing his finish into the roof of the net in the 74th minute.

And just six minutes later, he proved instrumental again as his throughball played in Embolo, causing Muharemovic to panic and slide in as the last man, resulting in a straight red card – the first since the opening match when Mexico and South Africa shared three between them.

Vargas then wrapped up all three points with six minutes of the 90 remaining, bending a low effort past Vasilj. Manzambi was not done yet; Vargas was again awarded too much space down the left as he put it on a plate for the youngster to turn in first time in the 90th minute.

Bosnia-Herzegovina gave their travelling fans something to cheer late on as Ermin Mahmic put his laces through a lovely shot that beat Kobel for power three minutes later.

That joy lasted just four minutes, though, as Granit Xhaka squeezed his low penalty past Vasilj after Amar Memic caught Djibril Sow in the box to send Switzerland top of Group B with an emphatic win.

Yakin's bench comes up trumps

Aged 30 years and 97 days, Switzerland named their oldest starting XI in a World Cup match and the fourth-oldest at the tournament so far this year.

But for all that experience on the pitch, they struggled to build up momentum in the first half, perhaps still reeling after their wastefulness was punished in a 1-1 draw with Qatar.

It was an underwhelming first half; at this year's World Cup, only Ghana v Panama (three) and France v Senegal (seven) saw fewer shots before the break (seven), while only that first game (0.11) saw a lower first-half expected goals (xG) tally than this (0.24).

Murat Yakin cleverly used his bench, and it was one of his young stars that really turned the tide. Four of Manzambi's five goals for Switzerland in all competitions (14 apps) have come as a substitute (one goal in four starts).

He is also the 10th player to score a brace as a substitute in a World Cup match, and the youngest-ever to do so (20y 247d).

Overall, it was a major improvement for Switzerland after the break. They got six of their nine second-half shots on target (worth 1.94 xG), having three Opta-defined 'big' chances.

Manzambi and Vargas will certainly feel they have done enough to start their final group game against co-hosts Canada on June 24. Bosnia-Herzegovina, who face Qatar next, remain third ahead of the later game.