Figure caption,

Switzerland beat Canada but both through to World Cup last 32

At a glance

  • Ruben Vargas and Johan Manzambi score within 12 minutes of the second half starting to put Switzerland 2-0 up

  • Substitute Promise David halves deficit in 76th minute, less than two minutes after his introduction

  • Switzerland hold on to seal top spot, as Canada advance to the knockout round for first time as runners-up

  • PLAYER RATER

ByKeifer MacDonald
BBC Sport journalist

Switzerland sealed their place in the last 32 of the World Cup by defeating co-hosts Canada to finish top of Group B.

Goals from Ruben Vargas and Johan Manzambi in the opening 12 minutes of the second half were enough to secure top spot in Vancouver.

The victory also ensured Switzerland are only the third nation - alongside Argentina and France - to reach the knockout stages in each of the last four World Cups.

As a result, they will face one of the third-placed teams from Group E, F, G, H, I or J in Vancouver on 3 July.

Despite the defeat, Canada secured a place in the knockout stages for the first time in their history after finishing second in Group B, having drawn with Bosnia and Herzegovina and thrashed Qatar in their previous two matches.

But by failing to finish top of the standings, Jesse Marsch's side have surrendered their home advantage and will now not play any more of their matches in Canada.

Their next match will come at the Los Angeles Stadium in California on 28 June when they will face the runners-up of Group A.

In a first half with few chances, it was Switzerland - captained by Granit Xhaka on his 149th international appearance - who came closest to breaking the deadlock when Breel Embolo saw his effort from inside the area well saved by Maxime Crepeau.

Canada struggled to trouble their opponents and - even after hitting six past Qatar last week - could only manage three tame shots on target during a timid first-half display.

Switzerland took the lead within a minute of the restart as Manzambi picked out Vargas with a cross to the back post, which the forward finished calmly to score his second goal of the tournament.

Murat Yakin's side scored what turned out to be the winner 11 minutes later when Manzambi finished from inside the area after some impressive hold-up play from Embolo.

Canada halved the deficit 14 minutes from time when substitute Promise David finished off a delightful team move - 76 seconds after his introduction - but it wasn't enough to spark a fightback.

Switzerland celebrateImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Vargas (right) and Manzambi (left) are the first pair of Switzerland players to both score in back-to-back World Cup matches since Robert Ballamann and Josef Hugi in 1954

Player of the match

Number: 9 J. Manzambi
Average rating 8.19
Number: 9 J. Manzambi
Average Rating: 8.19
Number: 17 R. Vargas
Average Rating: 7.97
Number: 10 G. Xhaka
Average Rating: 7.66
Number: 7 B. Embolo
Average Rating: 7.28
Number: 13 R. Rodríguez
Average Rating: 7.00
Number: 8 R. Freuler
Average Rating: 7.00
Number: 4 N. Elvedi
Average Rating: 6.97
Number: 5 M. Akanji
Average Rating: 6.90
Number: 15 D. Sow
Average Rating: 6.86
Number: 1 G. Kobel
Average Rating: 6.84
Number: 25 L. Jaquez
Average Rating: 6.33
Number: 11 D. Ndoye
Average Rating: 6.32
Number: 3 S. Widmer
Average Rating: 6.10
Number: 20 M. Aebischer
Average Rating: 6.00
Number: 16 C. Fassnacht
Average Rating: 5.63
Number: 26 C. Itten
Average Rating: 5.38

After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.