MADRID (AP) — Participants wearing shoes with heels of at least 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) compete in an annual high heel race during Madrid’s Pride week on Thursday, July 2.
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People in drag take part in festivities and preparations ahead of the annual high-heel race during Madrid's Pride Week in Madrid, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
Participants walk before taking part in the annual high-heel race held as part of Madrid's Pride Week in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
A participant wearing shoes with heels of at least 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) poses after the annual high heel race during Madrid's Pride week, in Madrid, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
Participants walk before taking part in the annual high-heel race held as part of Madrid's Pride Week in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
People in drag take part in festivities and preparations ahead of the annual high-heel race during Madrid's Pride Week in Madrid, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
Spectators wait for the annual high-heel race during Madrid Pride Week, in Madrid, in Madrid, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
Participants wearing shoes with heels of at least 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) run in the annual high heel race during Madrid's Pride week, in Madrid, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
Participants prepare to take part in the annual high-heel race during Madrid Pride Week, in Madrid, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
A participant wearing shoes with heels of at least 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) poses in the annual high heel race during Madrid's Pride week, in Madrid, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
Participants prepare to take part in the annual high-heel race during Madrid Pride Week, in Madrid, Spain, on Thursday 2 July 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
A participant wearing shoes with heels measuring at least 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) walks during the annual high-heel race held as part of Madrid's Pride Week in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
Participants wearing shoes with heels of at least 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) run in the annual high heel race during Madrid's Pride week, in Madrid, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
People in drag take part in festivities and preparations ahead of the annual high-heel race during Madrid's Pride Week in Madrid, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
Participants walk before taking part in the annual high-heel race held as part of Madrid's Pride Week in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
A participant wearing shoes with heels of at least 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) poses after the annual high heel race during Madrid's Pride week, in Madrid, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
Participants walk before taking part in the annual high-heel race held as part of Madrid's Pride Week in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
People in drag take part in festivities and preparations ahead of the annual high-heel race during Madrid's Pride Week in Madrid, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
Spectators wait for the annual high-heel race during Madrid Pride Week, in Madrid, in Madrid, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
Participants wearing shoes with heels of at least 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) run in the annual high heel race during Madrid's Pride week, in Madrid, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
Participants prepare to take part in the annual high-heel race during Madrid Pride Week, in Madrid, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
A participant wearing shoes with heels of at least 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) poses in the annual high heel race during Madrid's Pride week, in Madrid, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
Participants prepare to take part in the annual high-heel race during Madrid Pride Week, in Madrid, Spain, on Thursday 2 July 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
A participant wearing shoes with heels measuring at least 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) walks during the annual high-heel race held as part of Madrid's Pride Week in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
Participants wearing shoes with heels of at least 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) run in the annual high heel race during Madrid's Pride week, in Madrid, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Switzerland finally broke through with a win in a World Cup knockout match.
Breel Embolo and Dan Ndoye both scored and the Swiss advanced to the round of 16 at the World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Algeria on Thursday night.
Switzerland will play the winner of Friday's match between Colombia and Ghana in Kansas City, Missouri. The round-of-16 game is set for next Tuesday in Vancouver.
Switzerland had not won a knockout-round match since 1938 in France, but in 1954 the team won a playoff game to reach the quarterfinals.
Although the Swiss reached the round of 16 at the past three World Cups, there was a smaller field of 32 teams in each of those tournaments, and they could get no further.
“Today we write one page of history, but we want more, and we work for more,” Ndoye said. “I think we show that we are a strong team, and now we need to show it in the next game, and we hope again to the next game.”
Celebrating the victory, the Swiss players sat on the field as they were serenaded by their fans. As the song reached a crescendo, the players jumped up and danced.
Algeria was eliminated after returning to the World Cup for the first time since 2014, when it advanced to the knockout round but fell to eventual champion Germany.
Algeria dominated the first 10 minutes before Johan Manzambi raced down the right side and crossed to Embolo for the tap-in. Embolo celebrated his 26th international goal with a knee slide.
“It was important to score at the right moment,” Swiss coach Murat Yakin said. “It was a lucky punch, but then after that, I think that we were dominating on the pitch, and I’m really happy with the overall performance, because we played against very strong individual players.”
Less than a minute into the second half, Ndoye scored with a blast from the top of the box that diving Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane couldn’t stop.
Fabian Rieder nearly got a third goal for Switzerland in the 81st minute but missed on the tap-in as the ball skirted across the face of Algeria’s goal.
“I think the second goal was decisive. In the first half, we played a good match. We had several opportunities, and unfortunately we did not score,” Algeria head coach Vladimir Petkovic said. “Unfortunately, after 12 minutes they scored the first goal, and we were not able to really cope with it. I have to congratulate them. They played a very good match.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino was at the game, his second of the day. Earlier his attended the match between Spain and Austria in Inglewood, California.
Algeria advanced as a third-place finisher after a 3-3 draw against Austria last Saturday in Kansas City. The result sent both teams through to the knockout round but eliminated Iran. Algeria captain Riyad Mahrez, 35, scored a pair of goals.
“It was already a big success to be back at a competition like this after 12 years away, and making it through the group stage for only the second time in our history. I think that’s also an excellent result," Petkovic said. ”Of course, we wanted to achieve a little bit more, but we weren’t able to do so."
The Swiss got goals from Rubén Vargas and Manzambi to beat Canada 2-1 on Wednesday — spoiling Canada’s hopes of playing their first-ever knockout-round game on home soil. Instead, Switzerland got the return trip to Vancouver.
The Swiss also got a week off, during which time they returned to their training base in San Diego.
Manzambi, 20, has become the breakout star for Switzerland in the tournament, with a pair of goals and two assists. He played off the bench to start the World Cup, but earned a starting role in the team’s last two games.
Petkovic coached Switzerland from 2014-21 and led the team to the out of the group stage in the 2018 World Cup. He also was at the helm when the Swiss went to the quarterfinals of the European Championship in 2020.
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
Switzerland's Granit Xhaka (10) and Algeria's Ibrahim Maza (22) talk following during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Switzerland and Algeria in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Algeria's Houssem Aouar (8) and Switzerland's Denis Zakaria (6) battle for a head ball during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Switzerland and Algeria in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Switzerland's Johan Manzambi (9) battles with Algeria's Aissa Mandi (2) during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Switzerland and Algeria in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Nick Didlick)
Switzerland's Breel Embolo (7) and Algeria's Ramy Bensebaini (21) battle for the ball during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Switzerland and Algeria in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Switzerland's Johan Manzambi (9) and Algeria's Rayan Ait-Nouri (15) battle for the ball during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Switzerland and Algeria in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Switzerland's Breel Embolo (7) celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Switzerland and Algeria in Vancouver, British Columbia, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
