Early goals in each half from Breel Embolo and Dan Ndoye steer Murat Yakin’s side into the Round of 16 at the World Cup for the fourth consecutive competition.
Switzerland 2-0 Algeria
Switzerland goals: Embolo (10), Ndoye (46)
Switzerland booked their place in the Round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup 2026™ with the minimum of fuss, swatting Algeria aside thanks to goals from Breel Embolo and Dan Ndoye.
Murat Yakin’s side took the lead in just the 10th minute at BC Place Vancouver, as Johan Manzambi embarked on a determined run into the penalty area and cut the ball back from the byline for Embolo to tuck home from inside six-yard box.
Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic was previously in charge of Switzerland between 2014-21, and with his side making it to the break without conceding again he would have been hoping to impart some half-time wisdom to his charges to spark a turnaround.
Whatever he said clearly didn’t have the desired effect though, and within one minute of the restart Ndoye doubled Switzerland’s lead when he controlled Rafik Belghali’s half clearance just inside the area before calmly slotting beyond the despairing dive of Luca Zidane.
With Switzerland coming into this contest on a run of just one defeat in their last 17 games, that left Algeria with a mountain to climb, and they were unable to fashion any clear chances to work their way back into the game, being kept at arm’s length by a Swiss side now heading into the Round of 16 at the World Cup for the fourth consecutive competition.
Switzerland will remain in Vancouver, where they will next take on either Colombia or Ghana on 7 July.
Stat
Switzerland have now won three successive fixtures at the World Cup for the first time, with this victory following group-stage triumphs over Bosnia and Herzegovina and Canada
Michelob Ultra Superior Player of the Match
Breel Embolo (Switzerland)
What they said…
“The most important thing is the victory. I spoke about being clinical. We suffered at the start of the game, but managed to score a superb team goal. I’m at the end of the team effort. They started strongly, but congratulations to our team for controlling the match and especially with how we came out at the start of the second half. Algeria is a strong team and we’re happy to win with a clean sheet too.” Breel Embolo, Switzerland forward
“Our aim was to go through and I think it was a game we could have won. But we conceded twice on mistakes and at this level, you can’t get away with it. There are always positives to take away from matches: we did manage to get out of the group stage, but we conceded too many goals to aspire to more. This was my last match with Algeria.” Riyad Mahrez, Algeria forward