Switzerland Break 88-Year World Cup Knockout Drought With Algeria Win

Switzerland reached the World Cup last 16 for the first time in 88 years after a composed 2-0 victory over Algeria in Vancouver.

Softfootball undertsands that Murat Yakin’s side ended a run of seven consecutive World Cup knockout defeats with an impressive display and will now face either Colombia or Ghana in the next round.

Algeria started brightly but failed to make their early pressure count as Switzerland kept Riyad Mahrez quiet throughout the contest. The breakthrough came after just 10 minutes when Breel Embolo calmly finished to hand the Swiss an early advantage.

Switzerland doubled their lead immediately after the restart as Nottingham Forest winger Dan Ndoye found the net in the 46th minute, effectively ending Algeria’s hopes of a comeback. Fabian Rieder missed a late chance to make the scoreline even more emphatic, but it did little to spoil a historic evening for the Swiss.

The victory marks Switzerland’s first World Cup knockout triumph since 1938 and sends them into the round of 16 full of confidence.

Portugal also booked their place in the World Cup last 16 with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Croatia after a controversial VAR decision denied Zlatko Dalić’s side a late equaliser.

Player Ratings

Switzerland

Player	Rating
Gregor Kobel	7.8
Denis Zakaria	8.0
Nico Elvedi	7.2
Manuel Akanji	7.8
Ricardo Rodriguez	7.6
Remo Freuler	7.4
Granit Xhaka	7.7
Dan Ndoye	8.2
Johan Manzambi	7.4
Ruben Vargas	7.3
Breel Embolo	7.5

Algeria

Player	Rating
Luca Zidane	6.0
Rayan Ait-Nouri	7.5
Ramy Bensebaini	6.3
Aissa Mandi	6.2
Rafik Belghali	6.7
Nabil Bentaleb	7.0
Ramiz Zerrouki	6.1
Houssem Aouar	6.3
Ibrahim Maza	6.2
Riyad Mahrez	6.4
Amine Gouiri	6.2

Match Statistics

Statistic	Switzerland	Algeria
Ball possession	44%	56%
Attempts	11	8
Shots on target	5	2
Corners	4	2
Offsides	0	2
Yellow cards	0	2
Passes	354	476