By DAVE SKRETTASunday July 12, 2026
Argentina again found a way to survive a night of drama, stretching its World Cup run into another late chapter as Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez delivered in extra time to beat Switzerland 3-1 and advance to the semifinals.
Perhaps it is in Argentina’s character that the reigning World Cup champion always finds a way to win.
Perhaps it is simply its ability to suffer.
From barely scraping past Cape Verde to rallying after falling two goals behind against Egypt, Lionel Messi and La Albiceleste have repeatedly weathered storms — and Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium was no different. Álvarez struck from distance in the 112th minute, and Martínez added a late extra-time finish to seal the victory before a raucous crowd.
“We’re among the best four,” Alvarez said, “so we’re meeting our objectives, and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. The whole match was hard, and we would have loved to have the win earlier, but we tried to get the win however we could.”
“It seems like if there’s no suffering, it doesn’t count,” Argentina’s Leandro Paredes added, “but as long as the results come through.”
Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring, converting a Lionel Messi corner, and Argentina will now meet England in a semifinal showdown on Wednesday in Atlanta after the Three Lions edged Norway 2-1 earlier in the day.
Messi’s run of scoring in nine straight World Cup matches ended, but his hunt for a second global crown lives on. With Argentina joining England, France and Spain in the last four, it marks the first time the top four teams in the FIFA rankings have all reached the semifinals.
“A match is coming up,” Paredes said, “that every kid dreams of playing.”
The match’s turning point will likely fuel debate: Switzerland had equalized through Dan Ndoye in the 67th minute, but moments later Leandro Paredes was cautioned for a challenge on Breel Embolo. Video replay showed Embolo falling before contact, and because Embolo had already been booked, the referee sent him off under the tournament’s “mistaken identity” protocol — leaving Switzerland to defend with 10 men.
It was the second time at this World Cup that a yellow card was reversed for mistaken identity, a mechanism that allows the video assistant referee to correct situations where the wrong player was penalized.
“We were punished because of a rule that in my opinion is completely unacceptable,” Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said. “I don’t understand. It’s very painful that we were eliminated that way. I don’t think we deserve that today, in my opinion.”
The dismissal brought a bitter end to Switzerland’s run: their first World Cup quarterfinal appearance since 1954, and still no semifinal appearances in the nation’s history — nor a victory over Argentina in eight meetings, three of them on the sport’s biggest stage.
“It was just a disaster,” Switzerland’s Remo Freuler said of the red card.
Argentina has based itself in Kansas City for the past month, training at Sporting Kansas City’s facilities and winning over local fans. On Saturday they returned to Arrowhead Stadium for the second time this tournament — a venue where Messi produced a hat trick against Algeria a few weeks earlier — and thousands of supporters packed the stands, including Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The day had felt brutally hot and humid, but temperatures eased as the sun set, creating a picture-postcard backdrop for the 100th match of an expanded World Cup and the final game of the quarterfinal round.
Switzerland arrived with a stingy defensive record — just three goals conceded in five games — and controlled possession early. But Messi, tied with France’s Kylian Mbappé on eight goals in the tournament, jolted the crowd by winning a corner and delivering the service that allowed Mac Allister to head Argentina into a 1-0 lead.
For much of the contest the Swiss struggled to penetrate an Argentina defense that had shown cracks by conceding two goals in each of their previous two matches. The absence of Johan Manzabi, sidelined with a knee injury after missing the round of 16 penalty shootout against Colombia, deprived Switzerland of one of their key attacking options.
Still, the Swiss drew level when Ricardo Rodriguez’s pass found Ndoye, who finished neatly past Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez after forcing a pair of tough saves earlier in the second half.
Any momentum from the equalizer vanished with Embolo’s sending-off minutes later.
Argentina pushed as the clock ran down — Mac Allister headed wide in the 89th minute and Messi missed a chance in stoppage time that rattled off the post — and the match headed into extra time.
There, as they have in this tournament, La Albiceleste found a way. Álvarez’s long-range strike broke the deadlock, and Martínez wrapped up the win late in extra time to keep Argentina’s bid for consecutive World Cups alive.
“We knew this could happen,” Argentina midfielder Thiago Almada said. “They have top players, very good position, they were trying to find people inside. We knew how to hold up and we made it through.”
