The Swiss national team, led by Murat Yakin, defeated Algeria decisively with 2:0 in a match from the 1/16 finals of the World Cup, played at the “BC Place“ stadium in Vancouver, Canada.
With this success, the Swiss made history, winning their first regular-season World Cup knockout match since 1938.
The score was opened in the 10th minute, when rising star Johan Manzambi made a great run down the flank and assisted Briel Embolo, who sent the ball into the empty net of the goal guarded by Luca Zidane from close range. The Algerians, led by former Swiss coach Vladimir Petkovic, tried to react, but missed their clearest chance at the end of the first half through Ibrahim Maza.
The intrigue in the match was finally killed immediately after the game resumed. In the 46th minute, just 47 seconds into the second half, Dan Ndoy took advantage of a collective mistake in the „Desert Foxes“ defense and doubled the lead for the „Crusaders“. Until the end of the match, captain Granit Xhaka, who recorded his 150th anniversary match for the national team, and the experienced Swiss defense did not allow for any surprises.
In the round of 16, Switzerland awaits the winner of the clash between Colombia and Ghana.
Source: The sports section of Focus-News and the chronology of the match in The New York Times / The Athletic..