Switzerland remain unbeaten at the 2026 World Cup and will face either Colombia or Ghana in their next match.
Published July 3, 2026
Swiss striker Breel Embolo scored an early goal and winger Dan Ndoye added a second as Switzerland beat Algeria 2-0 on Thursday and advanced to the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup, where they will face either Colombia or Ghana in Vancouver next week.
Murat Yakin’s Swiss team performed a tactical masterclass, changing formations and setting traps for Algeria, before scoring two shocking goals in the end to seal the match. It wasn’t exciting, but it was full of intrigue and nuance.
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Facing a familiar foe in Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic, who coached Switzerland for seven years from 2014 to 2021, Yakin soaked up the early pressure and set his team up to attack on the break, and that’s exactly what they did.
Their opener was simple and effective at the same time.
Switzerland won the ball in their own half and on the counter sent 20-year-old Johan Manzambi out to the left, where Embolo squared the ball into the goal in the 10th minute.
Once they had secured the lead, Switzerland changed possession to a five-man midfield, taking up space and forcing the Algerians to break through, but Petkovic’s charges struggled to break them down.
Algeria’s best chance came in first-half stoppage time, when Ibrahim Maza fired a snap shot wide of the near post, one of Algeria’s few shots on goal in the match.
The Swiss were on the attack again shortly after the break, attacking down the right, but a half-hearted clearance from Rafic Bergari found itself at the feet of Ndoye, and the winger fired a shot past goalkeeper Luca Zidane’s dive.
Algeria captain Riyad Mahrez could have scored a goal soon after, but he fired a shot directly at the defender from a central position, summing up a frustrating night for the Algerians.
With Granit Xhaka at the helm of Switzerland’s defense, the Swiss reverted to their original game plan of giving up possession and launching lightning-fast counter-attacks, but the Algerians were cautious about introducing players up front to avoid conceding goals again.
Despite the capacity crowd at BC Place, the final 15 minutes were played in near silence, with only the sounds of cheers and then groans. Swiss substitute Fabian Rieder tried to get the ball off target and smashed his shot into the net, allowing a grateful Zidane to evade danger.
Fortunately for Switzerland, this did not affect the result as they celebrated reaching the last 16 on Tuesday.
