Substitutes Johan Manzambi and Ruben Vargas were on fire as Switzerland trounced 10-man Bosnia-Herzegovina 4-1 at the World Cup on Thursday to take a big step towards the knock-out stages.
The pair came on in the 72nd minute along with Djibril Sow with the score 0-0 and they swiftly turned the match upside down in a stunning final phase.
Two minutes after their introduction, Vargas' cross was cleared to Manzambi who opened the scoring, Vargas netted the second himself in the 84th and set up Manzambi for the third in the 90th.
Captain Granit Xhaka wrapped up matters with a penalty on the final kick of the match after Sow was fouled.
In-between, a through-ball from Manzambi to Breel Embolo led to a last-man foul from Tarik Muharemović for which the Bosnia player was sent off in the 80th minute. Bosnia did however get a classy consolation goal in stoppage time from Ermin Mahmić.
"It is like a dream scoring two goals: I will definitely not sleep," the 20-year-old Man of the Match Manzambi said. "We wanted to win. We knew we wanted to do better than against Qatar."
The Swiss were held 1-1 by Qatar in their opener by conceding a stoppage time equalizer from a Miro Muheim own goal but are now well-placed with four points to reach the knock-outs for a fourth time in a row.
Bosnia, who also played 1-1 in their opener, against Canada, are not out with one point.
Veteran Xhaka had voiced sharp criticism on the team after the Qatar match which did not go down well everywhere but he said he has no regrets.
"There is always a lot of unrest around me and a lot is written. Maybe I need these provocations. All that counts for me is that I am backed by the coach and the other players," the Sunderland player told Germany's MagentaTV.
"We played good football," he said and went on to praise the substitutes: "We need every player. We got a push with them. The whole team profits. You need this mentality and hunger if you don't start."
Manzambi and Vargas brought some badly needed speed and flair into the game of the Swiss who were the better team but lacked accuracy and were frustrated by Bosnia goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj.
Manzambi from German Europa League finalists Freiburg opened the scoring with a great volley on his first touch of the game after a Bosnian clearance of Vargas' cross fell kindly into his path.
Things got even easier once Muharemović got his marching orders. Vargas drilled into the far right corner off Breel Embolo and cut back to Manzambi for the third.
Mahmić, also a substitute, scored with a sensational volley at the other end before Xhaka wrapped up the late five-goal flurry from the spot.
Co-hosts Canada play Qatar later on Thursday. The final round is next week when Canada play Switzerland and Bosnia face Qatar. The top two from the 12 groups advance to the knock-out stages along with the eight best third-placed teams.
