Switzerland – Algeria

The European team will advance to the Round of 16.

The Swiss team arrived at the World Cup as one of the most experienced participants. In addition, the Europeans were largely fortunate with the group composition, with the draw including Qatar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Canada. Of course, bookmakers and football pundits predicted the Swiss would have their easiest outing in the match against Qatar. Even at the home World Cup four years ago, the Asian side did not manage to earn a single point. However, some cruel fate prevented Switzerland from winning. The ball stubbornly refused to go into the net, and for most of the match the European side held a precarious 1-0 lead. It held until the 90+5th minute, when Qatar leveled the score and plunged Murat Yakin's players into despair. Fortunately, Switzerland demonstrated the ability to learn from its own mistakes. Against the stronger Bosnia and Herzegovina and Canada, Granit Xhaka and his teammates enjoyed a noticeable edge, expressed in 4-1 and 2-1 victories respectively. In the knockout stage the Swiss advanced from first place, fully confident in their own strength. Algeria's participation in the World Cup is an example of how one can fight for victory in every group-stage match. If Africa's representatives didn't fare well against Argentina due to the huge gap in class, then with Jordan and Austria there were intriguing battles. Riyad Mahrez and his teammates earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the World Cup debutants. Facing the final round, when a draw in the head-to-head would suit both Algeria and Austria, Vladimir Petkovic narrowly outwitted his opponent and almost snatched the win. The Austrian side escaped defeat in one of the last attacks — 3:3. Throughout the tournament, Algeria's goalkeeper position drew attention, with Zinedine Zidane's son performing unimpressively in the first two matches, and in the third round Usama Benbot defended no less poorly. Switzerland is the side that would strip away even the smallest problems of the Algerian team, not to mention something as substantial as that. The European squad has an advantage over the opponent at almost every position, which will bear fruit in the form of advancing to the Round of 16.