Argentina vs Switzerland
Photography by: Peter Bonilla
For the third consecutive knockout match, Lionel Scaloni's side found itself pushed to the brink, but they were still able to defeat Switzerland 3-1 in extra time at Kansas City Stadium. It was yet another dramatic escape by Argentina, who will now face England in a semifinal that promises to be one of the games of the tournament.
Still, for large stretches of this evening, it didn’t look like Argentina would advance past Switzerland. The final scoreline hardly reflected a contest that hung in the balance for more than two hours.
Argentina started the game positively, opening the scoring after just 10 minutes. Lionel Messi's inswinging corner found Alexis Mac Allister, who rose above a crowd of defenders to glance a header into the far corner and hand the defending champions an early advantage. It was Messi's 10th World Cup assist, extending another remarkable chapter in his tournament legacy even as his record nine-match World Cup scoring streak came to an end.
Yet Switzerland, appearing in its first World Cup quarterfinal since 1954, refused to go down without a fight. After weathering Argentina's early pressure, Murat Yakin's side gradually grew into the match, forcing Emiliano Martínez into several important saves before finally finding a deserved equalizer in the 67th minute. Dan Ndoye exchanged passes with Ricardo Rodríguez before calmly sliding his finish past Martínez, silencing the sea of Argentine supporters inside the stadium. Once again, a lower-ranked nation had the defending champions by the ropes, and it really looked like Switzerland had all the momentum to find a second.
But all of that changed after a shocking sequence of events. Initially, Leandro Paredes appeared destined for a yellow card following a challenge on Breel Embolo. But after a VAR review under FIFA's "mistaken identity" protocol, officials determined Embolo had simulated the contact. Already carrying a booking, the Swiss forward instead received a second yellow card and was sent off, leaving Switzerland to battle the final stages with 10 men.
It was a golden opportunity for La Albiceleste to regain their footing and fashion a winner, but even with the numerical advantage, Argentina struggled to break through even deep into extra time.
Only a moment of brilliance by Julian Álvarez gave Argentina the win. The Atleti forward collected the ball outside the area and bent an unstoppable effort into the top corner to send Kansas City into celebration. A goal of the tournament contender by every measurement.
Right at the death, Lautaro Martínez added a third to put the nail in Switzerland’s coffin, and send the defeding champions to the semis.
"We kept trying until the end," Álvarez said afterward. "We knew that if we stayed together, the goal would come."
Martínez's late finish added gloss to the result, but Argentina knows the performance left room for improvement. Scaloni admitted his side "suffered" against a physical Swiss team and acknowledged the dismissal shifted the momentum.
The reward, however, is another semifinal appearance—and a tantalizing showdown with England. Alongside France and Spain, the world's top four ranked nations have all reached the final four, setting the stage for one of the strongest semifinal lineups in World Cup history. Argentina may not be making this journey easy, but they just continue to find a way.
