Switzerland 2-0 Algeria: FIFA World Cup Round of 32 Match Report

Switzerland 2-0 Algeria, and a professional knockout win from a side that had topped its group. Switzerland led at half-time and added a second after the break, keeping their first clean sheet of the tournament in the process.

The margin understates how routine this was. Algeria had conceded seven goals in the group stage, more than any other qualifier from their section, and Switzerland were the third seeded side they had faced in four matches. A 2-0 with a goal in each half is the shape of a tie controlled rather than contested.

For Switzerland it was the start of a run that would take them to a quarter-final, and it is the only knockout match in the tournament they won inside ninety minutes.

Switzerland won Group B with seven points. They drew 1-1 with Qatar in a scrappy opener, then beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 4-1 and Canada 2-1. Seven goals scored, three conceded — the most complete group campaign in a section that also produced two other qualifiers.

Algeria came through Group J on four points behind Argentina and Austria. They lost 3-0 to Argentina, beat Jordan 2-1, then drew 3-3 with Austria in a six-goal final match that secured their place. Five scored, seven conceded, and a defence that gave up three goals twice in three matches.

That 3-0 defeat to Argentina is the relevant precedent. Against the strongest side in their group Algeria did not score and conceded three; Switzerland were a comparable step up, and the outcome rhymed.

Switzerland advanced to a Round of 16 against Colombia that finished 0-0 after 120 minutes and went to penalties, which they won 4-3. They then lost 3-1 to Argentina in the quarter-final after extra time, having been level at 1-1 through ninety minutes.

Their tournament therefore contains two matches that went the full distance and one, this, that did not. Reaching the last eight while playing 300 minutes of knockout football across three ties is a campaign of considerable endurance, and this comfortable win was the only time they were spared it.

For Algeria, elimination in the Round of 32 completes a tournament defined by a leaky defence. Seven goals conceded in the group and two more here — and their qualification was earned in a 3-3 draw rather than in a win.