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Algeria Beat Nigeria and Extend Unbeaten Run to 19 Matches

Algeria Beat Nigeria and Extend Unbeaten Run to 19 Matches
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Algeria Beat Nigeria and Extend Unbeaten Run to 19 Matches

Algeria Beat Nigeria and Extend Unbeaten Run to 19 Matches

Algeria extended an unbeaten run to 19 matches with a 1-0 victory over Nigeria Friday in an international friendly between two of the top five ranked African countries.

In another high-profile warm-up match behind closed doors ahead of 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying next month, Morocco triumphed 3-1 over a depleted Senegal.

Burkina Faso, Gambia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania and Tunisia also won while 2021 Cup of Nations hosts Cameroon drew 0-0 against Japan.

Cup of Nations title-holders Algeria needed less than six minutes to score the goal in the Austrian town of Sankt Veit an der Glan that sank Nigeria in a rematch of the 2019 semi-final at the flagship African competition.

Center-back Ramy Bensebaini ventured forward for a corner and after heading the ball downward, poked it into the net.

Nigeria gave a debut to Frankfurt-born Kevin Akpoguma who, like Bensebaini, plays in the Bundesliga, and represented Germany at under-age level before switching his allegiance.

The defender is the latest of many Europe-born footballers to represent the African country where parents or grandparents come from.

Algeria last lost in October 2018 away to Benin and now move to the Netherlands for a friendly against Mexico on Tuesday.

Senegal, the top ranked African national team ahead of Tunisia, Nigeria, Algeria and Morocco, suffered a series of major withdrawals from the squad.

Liverpool forward and 2019 African Footballer of the Year Sadio Mane tested positive for Covid-19 and injuries ruled out goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and defender Kalidou Koulibaly.

So a challenging task in Rabat for the Senegalese became that much harder and they trailed by three goals before Ismaila Sarr converted an 88th-minute penalty.

Selim Amallah put the Moroccans ahead after 10 minutes and Youssef en Nesyri and Youssef el Arabi added to the scoresheet in the second half.

On Tuesday, Morocco host a Democratic Republic of Congo team that will be smarting from a 3-0 drubbing by Burkina Faso in Moroccan city El Jadida while Senegal entertain Mauritania.

The Mauritanians will travel south to neighboring Senegal boosted by a 2-1 win over Sierra Leone in Nouakchott, where Hemeya Tanjy fired in the 79th-minute winner.

Mali shrugged off losing a number of players to injuries and positive coronavirus tests to wallop Ghana 3-0 in the Turkish resort city of Antalya.

Hamari Traore put the Malians ahead inside three minutes and El Bilal Toure and Amadou Haidara netted early and late in the second half.

Tunisia were another nation to triumph 3-0 with all the goals against Sudan in Rades near Tunis coming during the first half.

France-based captain Wahbi Khazri was involved in all the goals, scored by Seifedine Khaoui, Ali Maaloul and Anis Ben Slimane.

In other friendlies, the Gambia edged Congo 1-0 in Portugal through an Assan Ceesay goal and a brilliant run and fierce shot from Cliff Nyakeya helped Kenya beat Zambia 2-1 in Nairobi.

The coronavirus sidelined African national teams from last November until late September when Sudan won two friendlies against Chad.

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Swiss Fans Salute Team after World Cup Run Ends in Defeat by Argentina

Swiss supporters react after Switzerland's defeat by Argentina in their 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-final match in Geneva, Switzerland, 12 July 2026. EPA/SALVATORE DI NOLFI
Swiss supporters react after Switzerland's defeat by Argentina in their 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-final match in Geneva, Switzerland, 12 July 2026. EPA/SALVATORE DI NOLFI
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Swiss Fans Salute Team after World Cup Run Ends in Defeat by Argentina

Swiss supporters react after Switzerland's defeat by Argentina in their 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-final match in Geneva, Switzerland, 12 July 2026. EPA/SALVATORE DI NOLFI
Swiss supporters react after Switzerland's defeat by Argentina in their 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-final match in Geneva, Switzerland, 12 July 2026. EPA/SALVATORE DI NOLFI

Swiss soccer fans saluted their team in the early hours of Sunday after their World Cup run came to an end with a 3-1 defeat by Argentina in the quarter-finals.

The Swiss had reached the quarter-finals for the first time since 1954, but fell one match short of an unprecedented semi-final appearance.

Their task was made all the more difficult with the absence of their leading scorer Johan Manzambi due to a knee injury, while Breel Embolo's controversial dismissal in the 72nd minute against Argentina changed the complexion of the match.

Despite the disappointment, fans were proud of their team's efforts and went back home in the early morning waving their Swiss flags.

"In our hearts you won, Switzerland," Switzerland fan Laura K. said in ⁠Nyon early on ⁠Sunday. "Ten against 11 with Argentina."

According to Reuters, Swiss President Guy Parmelin said on social media that Murat Yakin's side had captivated the country.

"Despite today’s disappointment, what stands out for me above all is an exceptional campaign and a close-knit team that has thrilled the whole of Switzerland," he added.

Parmelin had caused a stir by wearing a red MAGA-style hat proclaiming: “Switzerland: Great Since 1291”, a reference to the country’s original federal ⁠charter, while attending their knockout match against Algeria in Vancouver.

Alexis Mac Allister had given Argentina an early lead in Kansas City before Dan Ndoye equalized for the Swiss in the 67th minute.

With the game heading to a penalty shootout, Argentina's Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez scored deep in extra time to secure a dramatic 3-1 win for the defending champions that set up a semi-final against England.

Some fans could not hide their disappointment.

"In my opinion, it's better not to talk, I'm too tired," said fan Emma Bannerlin.

Switzerland's showing equaled their previous best World Cup performances, quarter-final appearances in 1934, 1938 and on home soil ⁠in 1954.

The Swiss ⁠team draws on the country’s diverse migrant communities, with the squad featuring players with Kosovan, Turkish, Spanish, Congolese and Cameroonian heritage, among others.

They qualified for the World Cup after topping their group and arrived in North America having lost only one of their previous 42 World Cup qualifiers.

En route to the quarter-finals, they defeated Bosnia and co-hosts Canada in the group phase, before beating Algeria and Colombia in the knockout phase.

Yakin's squad blended experienced internationals with a younger generation throughout the tournament. Captain Granit Xhaka is Switzerland's record all-time appearance holder after a decade and a half with the national side. The backbone of the team was drawn from Europe's top leagues, including goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, defender Manuel Akanji, midfielder Remo Freuler, forward Embolo and winger Ndoye.

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England, Argentina Set Up World Cup Showdown after Quarter-final Wins

Jude Bellingham celebrates England's victory over Norway in a World Cup quarterfinal soccer match in Miami Gardens, Fla., Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Jude Bellingham celebrates England's victory over Norway in a World Cup quarterfinal soccer match in Miami Gardens, Fla., Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
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England, Argentina Set Up World Cup Showdown after Quarter-final Wins

Jude Bellingham celebrates England's victory over Norway in a World Cup quarterfinal soccer match in Miami Gardens, Fla., Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Jude Bellingham celebrates England's victory over Norway in a World Cup quarterfinal soccer match in Miami Gardens, Fla., Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

England and Argentina set up a blockbuster World Cup semi-final showdown on Saturday after battling past Norway and Switzerland to book their passage to the last four.

In Miami, two goals from Jude Bellingham gave England a nervy 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway to send the Three Lions into the semi-finals for only the fourth time in history, AFP reported.

Defending champions Argentina later sealed their place in the last four after a nail-biting 3-1 win over 10-man Switzerland at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium.

Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez scored in extra time for Argentina, who had been on the ropes after a second-half equalizer from Switzerland's Dan Ndoye cancelled out Alexis Mac Allister's early opener for the holders.

The two results mean that England and Argentina will renew one of the World Cup's most iconic rivalries when they face each other in the semi-finals in Atlanta on Wednesday.

The winner of that game will take on the victor of France and Spain's semi-final in Texas on Tuesday in the final on July 19.

Furious England manager Thomas Tuchel said his team would need to make a drastic improvement if they were to have any chance of progressing beyond the semi-finals.

In sweltering Florida heat and humidity, a shaky England fell behind on 36 minutes through Andreas Schjelderup's rasping shot from the left.

But England got a huge slice of luck in first-half stoppage time when Bellingham equalized after an attack that began when a goal kick from Norway goalkeeper Orjan Nyland appeared to hit an overhead camera cable.

Norway's players protested to no avail and the goal stood. The Norwegians also had a goal controversially disallowed before Bellingham then bagged England's winner in extra-time.

"We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today," Tuchel said afterwards.

"The result is fantastic. The last four is amazing, but not happy with the performance... we were very lucky today."

Julian Alvarez (C) of Argentina celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's second goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinals match Argentina vs Switzerland, in Kansas City, USA, 11 July 2026. EPA/AMY KONTRAS

While FIFA later issued a statement saying there was "no evidence" the ball had hit the cable before England's first goal, Norway coach Stale Solbakken was adamant.

"That was unlucky for for us," Solbakken said. "The ball fell straight down from the sky, so it changed its direction. But we can't do anything about that. I don't think we will play the game again. So, that's that's how it is."

In Kansas City, Argentina were taken to extra time for the second time this tournament before battling to a 3-1 win over Switzerland.

The world champions took the lead after just 10 minutes, with Lionel Messi's outswinging corner finding the head of Mac Allister.

The Liverpool midfielder leapt up behind Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji and steered his header past Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.

Yet Switzerland rallied after that early setback, with their physicality and well-organized defense frustrating the Argentina attack.

As the match wore on, Switzerland grew in confidence and enjoyed their best period of pressure in the second half against increasingly weary-looking opponents.

On 67 minutes the Swiss breakthrough came.

Ndoye worked a deft one-two with Ricardo Rodriguez down the left and then shot past Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez to make it 1-1.

But with Argentina rocking the momentum swung back in the South Americans' favor when Swiss forward Breel Embolo was shown his second yellow card and sent off in tears after a VAR review.

Referee Joao Pinheiro initially gave a yellow card to Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes but after a VAR intervention the card was rescinded on the grounds of "mistaken identity."

Switzerland bravely held out to take the match to extra-time, and looked to be poised to take the game to penalty shoot-outs.

But Alvarez curled a magnificent screamer into the top corner in the 112th minute to break the deadlock, and then in the dying moments Martinez finished a counter-attack to complete the win.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said: "We had to suffer a lot but we knew they were a physical team.

"We had many difficulties. Sometimes we couldn't find the solutions, but today we had luck on our side because one of their players was sent off."

Sports

African Results Justify World Cup Slots Increase Amid Criticism

Cape Verde's Vozinha celebrates after the match in Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, US, June 15, 2026. (Reuters)
Cape Verde's Vozinha celebrates after the match in Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, US, June 15, 2026. (Reuters)
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African Results Justify World Cup Slots Increase Amid Criticism

Cape Verde's Vozinha celebrates after the match in Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, US, June 15, 2026. (Reuters)
Cape Verde's Vozinha celebrates after the match in Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, US, June 15, 2026. (Reuters)

When four-time World Cup winners Italy failed to qualify for the 2026 tournament, then head coach Gennaro Gattuso lamented that Africa had so many places at the global showcase.

"Africa deserves fewer World Cup slots," he said, referring to the number of automatic qualifying places allocated to that continent rising from five to nine in an expanded 48-nation event.

It became 10 when the Democratic Republic of Congo won an inter-continental play-off and returned to the World Cup after 52 years.

Was Gattuso, a midfielder in the Italian 2006 World Cup-winning team, correct? Was Africa over-represented in the United States, Canada and Mexico?

Apart from a disastrous showing by Tunisia, who axed coach Sabri Lamouchi after their first group game and lost all three matches, African flag-bearers proved competitive, justifying their presence.

The other nine representatives reached the knockout stage, five as group runners-up. The other four were among the eight best third-placed teams.

That represents 90% success, the highest among the FIFA regions, followed by South America (83.33), Europe (81.25) and Asia (22.22).

Europe did surge to the fore in the knockout phase with six quarter-finalists. Africa and South America had one each.

African teams were less successful in the round of 32, with seven eliminated. Egypt made the round of 16 and Morocco became the first African team to reach the quarter-finals twice.

A worrying trend was conceding late goals, with star strikers Lionel Messi, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland among those benefitting.

Messi levelled as Argentina turned a two-goal deficit against Egypt into a 3-2 triumph. Kane struck twice as England edged DR Congo and Haaland netted the winner for Norway over Ivory Coast.

A spectacular collapse saw Senegal surrender a two-goal advantage with five minutes remaining against Belgium to lose after extra time.

Many Africans believed Senegal would be the best performers of the 10 qualifiers, but they flopped, losing three of four games and scraping into the round of 32 as the eighth best third-placed side.

In the aftermath of the Teranga Lions' exit there were hints of internal strife. Midfielder Pape Gueye said he would not represent his country again until coach Pape Thiaw was dumped.

- Dramatic turnaround -

Egypt led Argentina 2-0, having had another goal controversially disallowed, with 12 minutes left. But a dramatic turnaround led to an Enzo Fernandez header giving the title-holders a 3-2 victory.

Losing coach Hossam Hassan speculated that the officiating team for the game, headed by French referee Francois Letexier, may have been subjected to "external pressure" to favor Argentina.

FIFA referees chief Pierluigi Collina responded: "Match officials make honest decisions and, just like players and coaches, they always try to do their best."

TV analyst and former French star Thierry Henry said "African sides relax too early. People talk about talent and passion, but when they go two goals up, the focus drops."

Co-analyst and ex-Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic added: "Several African teams that were leading found a way to lose. In a World Cup, that is not bad luck, that is bad game management."

Morocco losing to France in the quarter-finals demonstrated that while African football is progressing, there is still a significant gap when facing the cream of Europe.

It took the Atlas Lions 83 minutes to have a shot on target and France goalkeeper Michael Maignan comfortably pushed away the speculative shot from Azzedine Ounahi.

There were no excuses from Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi: "France are a really great side... they have rarely had as much talent as they do now."

Morocco have already qualified for the 2030 World Cup along with fellow hosts Portugal and Spain. A 115,000-seat stadium is being built near Casablanca with an eye to staging the final.

While Morocco went furthest, last-32 losers Cape Verde enthralled millions of spectators and TV viewers, despite not winning any of their four matches.

The tiny archipelago off west Africa with a population of just over half a million people defied Spain in their opening match to force a 0-0 draw.

Goalkeeper Vozinha, 40, made a string of superb saves to foil one of the title favorites. The worldwide impact was stunning. His Instagram following soared from 50,000 to five million.

Cape Verde equalized twice before losing 3-2 to Argentina in a last-32 tie and their second goal, a looping cross-cum-shot from Sidny Lopes Cabral, should be a contender for the best of the tournament.