Switzerland hammered Algeria 2-0 to book their place in FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 stages in Vancouver on Thursday.
Published: July 3, 2026, 1:03 PM IST
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Switzerland’s Dan Ndoye celebrates after scoring against Algeria in FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match. (Photo: IANS)
Switzerland vs Algeria FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32: Switzerland football team put on a clinical show to beat Algeria 2-0 in a FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match at the BC Place Stadium in Vancouver on Thursday. It was Switzerland’s first knockout win in the World Cup after 88 years and ended a run of seven straight losses in these games for the Swiss side.
Breel Embolo and Dan Ndoye scored a goal each and the Swiss advanced to the round of 16 at the World Cup. They will face the winner of Round of 32 match between Columbia and Ghana back in Vancouver on Tuesday.
Switzerland had not won a knockout-round match since 1938 in France, but in 1954 the team had won a playoff game to reach the quarterfinals. The Swiss had managed to qualify for the round of 16 stages in the last three World Cup tournaments – featuring only 32 teams – but failed to progress beyond that.
“Today we write one page of history, but we want more, and we work for more. I think we show that we are a strong team, and now we need to show it in the next game, and we hope again to the next game,” Ndoye was quoted as saying by AP news agency.
Algeria were eliminated after returning to the World Cup for the first time since 2014, when they advanced to the knockout round but lost to eventual champion Germany in Brazil. The African nation dominated the first 10 minutes before Johan Manzambi raced down the right side and provided a fabulous pass to Embolo for the tap-in. Embolo celebrated his 26th international goal with a knee slide.
“It was important to score at the right moment. It was a lucky punch, but then after that, I think that we were dominating on the pitch, and I’m really happy with the overall performance, because we played against very strong individual players,” Swiss coach Murat Yakin said after the match.
The Swiss doubled their lead in less than a minute into the second half with Ndoye scoring with a searing shot from the top of the box that Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane couldn’t stop. Luca is the son of legendary France player Zinedine Zidane.
Fabian Rieder almost had a third one for the Swiss in the 81st minute but missed on the tap-in as the ball squeezed across the face of Algeria’s goal.
“I think the second goal was decisive. In the first half, we played a good match. We had several opportunities, and unfortunately we did not score,” Algeria head coach Vladimir Petkovic said. “Unfortunately, after 12 minutes they scored the first goal, and we were not able to really cope with it. I have to congratulate them. They played a very good match.”
Algeria had advanced as a third-place finisher after a 3-3 draw against Austria last Saturday in Kansas City. The result sent both teams through to the knockout round but eliminated Iran.
The Swiss got goals from Ruben Vargas and Manzambi to beat Canada 2-1 on Wednesday — spoiling Canada’s hopes of playing their first-ever knockout-round game on home soil. Instead, Switzerland got the return trip to Vancouver thanks to the win.
