A stunning extra-time strike from Julián Álvarez carried Lionel Messi’s Argentina to a 3-1 victory over Switzerland in Kansas City on Saturday, sending the defending champions into the 2026 World Cup semi-finals, where they will face England in a high-stakes showdown.
Álvarez broke a 1-1 deadlock in the 112th minute with a spectacular effort from outside the area before Lautaro Martínez sealed victory on the counterattack deep into stoppage time.
Switzerland, appearing in their first World Cup quarter-final for 72 years, pushed the holders all the way but were left at a disadvantage after Breel Embolo was sent off in the 72nd minute for simulation, having received a second yellow card.
Argentina will meet England in Wednesday’s semi-final, a day after France take on Spain in the other last-four tie.
Messi will finally face England at a World Cup for the first time, exactly 40 years after the late Diego Maradona produced one of football’s defining performances against the Three Lions, scoring both the infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal and the ‘Goal of the Century’ in the 1986 quarter-finals.
For the first time in the tournament, Messi failed to score, remaining joint-top scorer on eight goals alongside France’s Kylian Mbappé.
The 39-year-old Inter Miami star did, however, register his 10th World Cup assist when Alexis Mac Allister headed home his corner in the 10th minute.
Argentina have extended what is likely to be Messi’s final World Cup by at least one more match, but once again needed to endure another gruelling battle after narrow victories over Cape Verde and Egypt.
“Today we weren’t at the level we wanted,” coach Lionel Scaloni admitted. “We suffered, but it’s very difficult to reach a World Cup semi-final without suffering.”
Argentina returned to Kansas City, where they had opened their campaign with an impressive 3-0 victory over Algeria, looking to put behind them an unconvincing start to the knockout stages.
Once again they struggled to impose their rhythm and, as has so often been the case, only found a breakthrough when Messi produced a moment of quality.
The captain swung a corner into the heart of the Swiss penalty area, where Mac Allister rose above Embolo and Djibril Sow to power a header beyond Gregor Kobel in the 10th minute.
The goal sparked celebrations among the 69,000 spectators at Arrowhead Stadium, many hoping Argentina would finally enjoy a comfortable evening.
Roared on by only a few hundred travelling supporters, Switzerland found themselves trailing for the first time in the tournament.
Red card for simulation
The game’s greatest drama arrived after the break.
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez denied Switzerland’s early pressure but the Europeans kept pushing and finally equalised in the 67th minute.
Dan Ndoye, Switzerland’s most dangerous attacking outlet, burst down the left, exchanged passes with Ricardo Rodríguez and calmly slotted past the charismatic Argentine goalkeeper.
Argentina suddenly looked vulnerable, but Switzerland’s hopes were dealt a major blow in a controversial incident involving VAR.
Referee initially booked Leandro Paredes for a challenge on Embolo. After reviewing the footage on the pitchside monitor, however, he concluded Embolo had simulated the fall and instead showed the striker a yellow card.
Already booked in the first half, Embolo was dismissed and left the pitch distraught as his teammates furiously protested.
“The rules are the rules… but in my opinion it’s a decision that kills the game,” Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka said afterwards.
“It’s very painful to go out like that. I don’t think we deserved it,” added coach Murat Yakin, who described the VAR intervention as “wrong.”
Reduced to 10 men, Switzerland dug in in search of a penalty shoot-out, repeating the formula that had seen them eliminate Colombia in the last 16, while the crowd tried to roar the Albiceleste forward.
Kobel thwarted Messi, Mac Allister and Thiago Almada before Álvarez, quiet for much of the evening, unleashed a magnificent strike into the top corner from outside the box.
It was La Araña’s first goal of the tournament, and it could hardly have been more valuable.
Fellow striker Lautaro Martínez then added a third on the break, sparking celebrations around the stadium, where chants aimed at England echoed through the stands.
“It’s a football match. Let’s not make it anything else,” Scaloni said, attempting to lower the temperature ahead of Wednesday’s encounter.
Following Argentina’s famous victory over England at the 1986 World Cup, four years after the South Atlantic War, the two nations met again at the World Cup in 1998, when Argentina prevailed on penalties, and in 2002, when England emerged victorious.
by Guillermo Barros, AFP
