Switzerland ends 72-year knockout drought at World Cup

On a rainy Thursday evening in British Columbia, Switzerland wrote a new chapter in their nation's football history. The last time the Nati won a knockout match at the FIFA World Cup came before anyone in the current squad was born—and before most of their grandparents were. That match was not a straight knockout round fixture but a play-off at the 1954 finals they hosted, to determine which nation would advance from the group stage after Switzerland finished level with Italy.

In the intervening 72 years, Switzerland has won the Eurovision Song Contest three times, Olympic gold in fencing, judo and rowing, and had four physicists scoop Nobel Prize honors. The one field they could not crack was a knockout win at the global finals—until now.

Historic victory in Vancouver

Goals from Breel Embolo and Dan Ndoye eased Switzerland past Algeria 2-0 in Vancouver, ending a 72-year drought. Speaking exclusively to FIFA after the breakthrough win, Ndoye knew what this moment meant for his nation.

“It feels great, really great. It was really important for us to win today. We wrote one page of history for our nation and we hope we will continue like that because this is what we have dreamt about. Not just the players, but the country has been dreaming about this and we want to continue to make them dream. We know that what we did today is special but we want more. We are happy today and tomorrow we will think about the next step and the next game, the next opponent.”

Powered by the superb showings of starlet Johan Manzambi, the Swiss attack has been clicking in North America, with Ndoye now the fifth different goalscorer in their first four matches. The team had, however, conceded in each of their previous three outings. Collecting their first clean sheet alongside the drought-breaking win was, as Manuel Akanji said, another real positive.

Defensive solidity key

“We defended well and I think we scored the goals in the right moment. To keep a clean sheet for the first time, that's something as a defender that you always want to do. It didn't happen in the other games and in the end, it's the win that counts, but when you get a clean sheet as something extra, it feels really good. Finally [we could win a knockout stage match] too but hopefully we're not done yet. I think it was a good performance and it wasn't easy. Algeria played really well, but I think we played with a lot of experience.”

The numbers bear that argument out: 25-year-old Ndoye was the second youngest member of the starting XI. Along with vast experience, the Nati have become a familiar presence in western Canada. Having stayed in Vancouver for the week after beating co-hosts Canada in their final group outing, the team now remains in Vancouver for a Round of 16 showdown against either Colombia or Ghana.

Looking ahead

That gives Ndoye extra time to respond to the many congratulatory messages he received—a task he admits could take a while.

“Oh, there were a lot of messages! A lot. I saw my agent got the first one but I couldn't respond. I have so many at the moment, there are more than one hundred for sure so now I have to take the time after to respond. For me though this is living a dream. Since I was a child, I saw the biggest teams in the world playing in the biggest tournament in the world. To be able to represent my country and to be able to play a knockout stage match, it's incredible. We want this dream to continue and to be able to make the country continue to dream. Now we will see who we are going to face in the next game, Colombia or Ghana, and we will take things step-by-step but we want to continue.”