Key events
The smallest details can make a difference at the World Cup.
All eyes will be on Switzerland’s 20-year-old attacker Johan Manzambi against Algeria, with the emerging talent living up to the hype so far with three goals in the group stage. Only Kylian Mbappé and Thomas Müller have scored more at a World Cup under the age of 21 this century. The France and Germany greats of course went on to win the golden boot at previous World Cups – without wanting to pile more pressure on Manzambi, here is where he sits in this year’s race …
Algeria XI
23 Luca Zidane (gk); 17 Rafik Belghali, 2 Aissa Mandi, 21 Ramy Bensebaini, 15 Rayan Aït-Nouri; 6 Ramiz Zerrouki, 22 Ibrahim Maza, 8 Houssem Aouar, 19 Nabil Bentaleb; 7 Riyad Mahrez (c), 10 Farès Chaïbi.
Coach Vladimir Petkovic recalls goalkeeper Zidane after he was omitted from the game against Austria with Oussama Benbot preferred, while Aït-Nouri is also back in the starting XI in place of Jaouen Hadjam. Zerrouki bolsters the midfield with Amine Gouiri named among the substitutes.
Switzerland XI
1 Gregor Kobel; 6 Denis Zakaria, 4 Nico Elvedi, 5 Manuel Akanji, 13 Ricardo Rodriguez; 11 Dan Ndoye, 10 Granit Xhaka (c), 8 Remo Freuler; 17 Ruben Vargas, 7 Breel Embolo, 9 Johan Manzambi.
Switzerland look set to line up in a 4-3-3 with veterans Xhaka and Freuler anchoring the midfield while Manzambi, Embolo and Vargas form a threatening attack.
Head coach Murat Yakin goes with Zakaria in place of Luca Jaquez, and recalls Ndoye into the starting XI over Djibril Sow.
Algeria are in the knockout stage for just the second time at a World Cup, having gone out in the last 16 in 2014 after their previous three visits to the tournament ended at the group stage. Jack Larkin joined the Algeria community at a Sydney cafe to ride the nervous energy and pandemonium of their memorable draw with Austria …
There is a nervous feeling in the air at Cafe Tanja because a loss would mean elimination for Algeria, who have been waiting for the chance to play Austria since the “Disgrace of Gijón”, the 1982 World Cup match where West Germany settled for a 1-0 win over Austria at the expense of Algeria, who were knocked out on goal difference.
Portugal are through to the last 16 after coming from behind to defeat Croatia in an all-time classic at Toronto Stadium. Paul MacInnes had the pleasure of witnessing the chaos and high drama first-hand …
Rafael Leão dropped to his knees. His cross had just been flicked into the net by Gonçalo Ramos to take Portugal to the last 16 of the World Cup. Leão’s expression was not one of delight, but relief.Billed as the last dance for two footballing icons, it was Luka Modrić who, at the age of 40, had to leave what will surely be his final World Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, plays on, and both scored and was even substituted in a match of endless incident. But this was a contest about more than two individuals, who were far from the most influential players on show. Instead this was an old-fashioned World Cup battle between hardened teams, with momentum swinging first one way then the other then back again. Neither side was willing to give up on their dream, and Portugal were the lucky ones in the end.
Johan Manzambi is no longer a secret weapon for Switzerland with the 20-year-old scoring three goals, and adding an assist, through the group stage. There are suggestions that the versatile midfielder could be on the move from Freiburg to Newcastle as a potential replacement for Sandro Tonali.
Switzerland did what they needed to do as they navigated a relatively favourable group stage, while Algeria rode a rollercoaster through their three games in part due to their own defensive lapses.
An undefeated but largely unconvincing start to the campaign was not enough for Switzerland to hold on to their initial place in the power rankings. Algeria, on the other hand, are trending in the opposite direction.
Johan Manzambi and Switzerland’s progress are on the same trajectory; they’ve both started slowly before pouncing.
On the other side of Canada the most gripping of last-32 clashes between Portugal and Croatia has just reached the most dramatic crescendo. Gonçalo Ramos scored with a header in stoppage time to claim the lead for Portugal for the first time in the game. But there was still time for a contentious call from VAR and the referee to deny Croatia a last-gasp equaliser.
Beau Dure is trying to keep up with all the drama and reaction from Portugal’s win over Croatia.
Preamble
Martin Pegan
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the World Cup match between Switzerland and Algeria at BC Place Vancouver. Kick-off in this last-32 clash is 8pm local/11pm EDT/4am BST/1pm AEST – or 4am in Algiers and 5am in Berne.
Switzerland took time to warm into the tournament when conceding late to draw their opener against Qatar. But they went on to steamroll Bosnia and Herzegovina then finished the group stage undefeated and locked in top spot with a win over co-hosts Canada.
Algeria had a much more dramatic journey to the last 32. There was no shame in being outclassed and defeated by Argentina before coming from behind to beat Jordan. But it was their clash with Austria, and an opportunity to avenge the Disgrace of Gijón, that will live longest in the memory. In arguably the best game of the group stage, Algeria again had to come from behind, this time not once but twice. They finally claimed the lead, and put one foot in the knockout stage, when Riyad Mahrez scored his second of the game in stoppage time. Another twist was still to come as Austria found time to level but by then Algeria had done enough to progress to the next stage as one of the top eight third-place finishers. That placing earned Algeria a last-32 clash with Switzerland, rather than an early meeting with Spain, with Colombia or Ghana now set to meet the winner of this game back at BC Place Vancouver.
Algeria are out to claim their first knockout stage win at a World Cup with Vladimir Petković now guiding them against the side he coached for seven years, while veteran Mahrez remains the on field spark even at the age of 35. Switzerland, on the other hand, can turn to a younger attack with Johan Manzambi leading the way and enjoying a breakout tournament.
I’ll be back shortly with the line-ups and team news – and the latest from the World Cup. In the meantime, get in touch with any questions, thoughts and predictions. You can shoot me an email, or find me on Bluesky @martinpegan.bsky.social. Let’s get into it!
