VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Switzerland has finally broken through with a win in the World Cup finals.
Briel Embolo and Dan Ndoye both scored for Switzerland, who advanced to the round of 16. world cup They beat Algeria 2-0 on Thursday night.
Switzerland will play the winner of the Colombia-Ghana game on Friday in Kansas City, Missouri. Round of 16 matches are scheduled for next Tuesday in Vancouver.
Switzerland had not won in the finals since the 1938 World Cup in France, but in 1954 the team won a playoff and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Switzerland has advanced to the last 16 in each of the past three World Cups, but in each tournament there were only 32 participating teams and they were unable to advance any further.
“Today we wrote a page in history, but we want more and are working for more,” Ndoye said. “I think we were able to prove that we are a strong team. We need to show that in the next game. I’m looking forward to the next game.”
The Swiss players celebrated their victory and sat on the field while being serenaded by their fans. As the song reached its climax, the players jumped up and danced.
Algeria returned to the World Cup for the first time since 2014, but although they advanced to the finals, they lost to eventual champions Germany and were eliminated.
Algeria were in control for the first 10 minutes, with Johan Manzambi running up the right flank and crossing for Embolo to score. Embolo celebrated his 26th international goal after slipping on his knee.
“It was important to score at the right time,” Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said. “It was a lucky punch, but I think we had the upper hand on the pitch after that. I’m really happy with the overall performance because we played against some very strong individual players.”
Less than a minute into the second half, Ndoye fired a shot from the top of the box that Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane was unable to stop.
Switzerland almost scored their third goal in the 81st minute through Fabian Rieder, but the ball just missed the Algerian goal and missed the tap-in.
Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic said, “I think the second goal was decisive. We played well in the first half. We had several chances, but unfortunately we couldn’t score.” “Unfortunately, they scored the first goal after 12 minutes and we didn’t respond well to it. We have to congratulate them. They played a very good game.”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino also played in his second match of the day. Earlier, he attended a match between Spain and Austria in Inglewood, California.
Algeria advanced to third place after a deciding match. 3-3 draw against Austria Last Saturday in Kansas City. As a result, both teams advanced to the final tournament, but Iran was eliminated. Algeria captain Riyad Mahrez (35) scored two goals.
“It was already a huge success to be back in a competition like this after 12 years and to get through to the group stage for the second time in our history. I think that’s also a great result,” Petkovic said. “Of course I wanted to achieve a little more, but I couldn’t do it.”
Ruben Vargas and Manzambi scored for the Swiss. Victory over Canada 2-1 On Wednesday, Canada’s hopes of playing its first finals tournament on home soil were dashed. In exchange, Switzer got a round-trip ticket to Vancouver.
The Swiss also took a week off, during which time he returned to his training base in San Diego.
Manzambi, 20, was Switzerland’s breakout star at the tournament, scoring two goals and providing two assists. Although he started on the bench at the World Cup, he started the team’s final two games.
Petkovic coached the Swiss national team from 2014 to 2021, leading them to an exit from the group stage at the 2018 World Cup. He also coached the Swiss national team as they reached the quarter-finals of the European Championship in 2020.
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