VANCOUVER (Reuters) – Switzerland striker Breel Embolo struck early and winger Dan Ndoye added a second as their side cruised to a 2-0 win over Algeria on Thursday and into the last 16 at the World Cup, where they will meet Colombia or Ghana back in Vancouver ‌next week.
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Murat Yakin’s Swiss side put on a tactical masterclass, shifting formations and laying traps for Algeria before hitting them with two sucker-punch goals that decided a contest short on excitement, but full of intrigue and nuance.
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Pitted against a familiar ​foe in Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic, who had seven years at the helm of Switzerland ​between 2014 and 2021, Yakin set his team up to absorb early pressure and â strike on the break, and that is exactly what they did.
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Their opener was as simple as it was effective.
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The Swiss won the ball in their own half and sent 20-year-old Johan Manzambi off down the ​left on the counter, and he squared for Embolo to steer the ball into the net from close range in the 10th minute.
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The lead secured, Switzerland shifted to a five-man midfield out of possession, snuffing out the space and challenging ​ the Algerians to play through them, but Petkovic’s charges struggled to break their opponents down.
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Algeria’s best chance ​came in first-half stoppage time when Ibrahim Maza dragged a snap shot wide of the near post, one of few ‌efforts â on goal they managed in the game.
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The Swiss struck again almost immediately after the break, attacking down the right before a half-hearted clearance from Rafik Belghali ended up at the feet of Ndoye and the winger placed his shot beyond the dive of goalkeeper Luca Zidane.
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Algeria captain Riyad Mahrez could have pulled a goal back moments later but he fired straight â at a defender from a central position, summing up a frustrating evening for the Algerians.
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With Granit Xhaka steering Switzerland’s defensive shape, they went back to their ​original game-plan of ceding possession and launching lightning-fast counter-attacks, but the Algerians were ​wary of committing â players forward lest they concede again.
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Despite the sell-out crowd at BC Place, the last 15 minutes were played in virtual silence, only broken by cheers and then groans as Swiss substitute Fabian Rieder somehow contrived to â miss with the goal at his mercy, scuffing his shot back across goal where a grateful Zidane was able to avert the danger.
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Fortunately for Switzerland it had no bearing on the outcome as they celebrated moving into a last-16 clash on Tuesday.