For almost two hours in Kansas City, Switzerland made the world champions look vulnerable, anxious and strangely ordinary.
Argentina had Lionel Messi. They had an early lead. They eventually had a one-player advantage. They also had an Arrowhead Stadium crowd that made Missouri sound more like Buenos Aires.
None of it guaranteed safety.
Switzerland equalised through Dan Ndoye, repeatedly broke through Argentina’s midfield and appeared capable of forcing another penalty shootout. Even after Breel Embolo was sent off in one of the tournament’s most unusual VAR interventions, the Swiss refused to surrender.
Then Julian Alvarez changed the night.
In the 112th minute, the Atletico Madrid forward curled a magnificent effort into the top corner from outside the penalty area. Lautaro Martinez added a third in extra-time stoppage time, completing a 3-1 victory that carried Argentina into a heavyweight semi-final against
England in Atlanta on Thursday (India time).
The result keeps alive Argentina’s attempt to become the first country since Brazil in 1962 to retain the World Cup. Yet the scoreline disguised how deeply Switzerland unsettled Lionel Scaloni’s side.
Messi did not score for the first time at this tournament. Argentina lost control for long periods. Their midfield was too easily bypassed. And the decisive shift came through a second yellow card that required VAR to correct what officials described as a case of “mistaken identity”.
Argentina are in the last four. They are also carrying another warning.
Argentina vs Switzerland: Match at a glance |
Event |
Minute |
Detail |
Argentina goal |
10’ |
Alexis Mac Allister heads in Messi’s corner |
Switzerland goal |
67’ |
Dan Ndoye finishes through Emiliano Martinez’s legs |
Switzerland red card |
72’ |
Breel Embolo receives second yellow for simulation after VAR review |
Argentina goal |
112’ |
Julian Alvarez curls into the top corner |
Argentina goal |
120+1’ |
Lautaro Martinez scores after Gregor Kobel saves Thiago Almada’s effort |
Final score |
— |
Argentina 3-1 Switzerland after extra time |
Next match |
— |
Argentina vs England in Atlanta |
Messi delivers early, Mac Allister attacks the blind side
Argentina appeared to be heading towards a comfortable evening when they scored inside 10 minutes.
Messi sent an outswinging corner towards the near post. Mac Allister, despite standing only 5ft 9in, arrived ahead of the taller Embolo and redirected the ball into the far corner beyond Gregor Kobel.
The finish owed as much to movement as elevation.
Switzerland defended the corner zonally, with four players guarding the six-yard line and another stationed at the near post. That structure gave them numbers close to goal but also encouraged defenders to watch the ball rather than track runners.
Mac Allister emerged from Embolo’s blind side, built momentum and attacked the space before his marker could react. Messi’s delivery supplied the pace; Mac Allister merely needed to guide it.
Argentina’s Alexis Mac Allister celebrates scoring their first goal with Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez. Photo: Reuters
It was Argentina’s fifth set-piece goal of the tournament, more than any other team, and Messi’s 10th World Cup assist.
Curiously, all 10 have been converted by different players.
Messi’s 10 World Cup assists, 10 different scorers |
No |
Goalscorer assisted by Messi |
1 |
Hernan Crespo |
2 |
Carlos Tevez |
3 |
Angel Di Maria |
4 |
Gabriel Mercado |
5 |
Sergio Aguero |
6 |
Enzo Fernandez |
7 |
Nahuel Molina |
8 |
Julian Alvarez |
9 |
Cristian Romero |
10 |
Alexis Mac Allister |
The sequence stretches back to Messi’s World Cup debut against Serbia and Montenegro in 2006. Two decades later, at 39 and in his sixth tournament, he remains Argentina’s creative reference point.
But the early assist did not become the start of another Messi masterclass.
Switzerland refuse the expected ending
Mac Allister’s goal was the first time Switzerland had trailed at this World Cup. Their response showed why they had reached a quarter-final for the first time since 1954.
The first half remained largely uneventful, but the match changed after the interval. Switzerland began moving the ball through Argentina’s midfield with greater confidence and repeatedly found space behind the holders’ defensive line.
Before Embolo’s dismissal, Switzerland outshot Argentina 6-2 in the second half.
Their attacks carried a clear pattern. Once Messi and Alvarez were bypassed, quick passes into Embolo or towards Ndoye gave Switzerland a direct route into dangerous areas. Argentina became aggressive only after the first line had been broken, often arriving too late to prevent the Swiss from advancing.
Scaloni’s side also dropped into a more passive shape instead of pressing home their one-goal advantage. That invited Switzerland forward and exposed the lack of control in midfield.
The equaliser increasingly felt like a matter of time.
Ndoye scores the equalizer for Switzerland. Photo: Reuters
Ndoye punishes Argentina’s passivity
Switzerland’s reward arrived in the 67th minute.
Ndoye received the ball in space on the left and exchanged passes with Ricardo Rodriguez. Argentina were slow to engage. Rodrigo De Paul was caught watching the ball and failed to track Rodriguez’s return run.
The one-two cut through the defensive shape, allowing Ndoye to enter the area and slide a right-footed finish through Emiliano Martinez’s legs.
The Switzerland winger turned towards the nearest television camera and roared. Their supporters erupted. For the first time, Argentina looked genuinely unsettled.
The champions had again allowed a knockout opponent to grow into the contest. Cape Verde had taken them into extra time. Egypt had led them by two goals. Now Switzerland had found the spaces that England will study closely.
Five minutes later, however, the entire match changed.
Embolo’s tears after VAR corrects ‘mistaken identity’
The incident began near the touchline and initially appeared straightforward.
Leandro Paredes approached Embolo at speed. The Switzerland forward fell. Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro believed Paredes had fouled him and showed the Argentina midfielder a yellow card.
Then the VAR officials in Dallas intervened.
Replays showed no meaningful contact. Embolo had anticipated the challenge and gone to ground. Because he had already been booked in the first half — ironically, for a foul on Paredes — a yellow for simulation meant dismissal.
The unusual element was how the review became possible.
VAR did not intervene simply to punish Embolo for diving. The review was triggered under the tournament’s expanded “mistaken identity” protocol because the referee had booked the wrong player for the incident.
The term usually suggests that an official has mistakenly cautioned one player instead of a teammate. Under the World Cup interpretation, however, the wrongly identified player can belong to either side.
Pinheiro withdrew Paredes’ yellow, showed the card to Embolo and then produced the red.
Embolo collapsed in tears and was consoled by teammates before leaving the field.
Embolo pleads after getting second yellow card of the match, which means red card. Photo: Reuters
Why the VAR decision was technically correct
The call appeared bizarre, but it followed the revised protocol.
Under the World Cup rules, VAR can review an incident when a referee has clearly sanctioned the wrong player. In this case, Paredes had been punished for a foul that replays showed he did not commit. The actual offence was Embolo’s simulation.
The irony is that had Pinheiro simply allowed play to continue without showing Paredes a card, VAR may not have been able to review Embolo’s dive on its own.
It was the incorrect booking that opened the door to correction.
The review therefore produced the right disciplinary outcome through an unusual procedural route. Embolo had gone to ground without contact and, because he was already on a yellow, Switzerland were reduced to 10 men.
The decision was controversial in appearance, but difficult to challenge under the tournament’s guidance.
Argentina dominate territory but not the game
The red card allowed Argentina to pin Switzerland back. The crowd sensed the shift, with chants of “Vamos, vamos!” echoing around Arrowhead Stadium.
Yet Argentina still struggled to produce fluency.
Messi became more involved, but his execution lacked its normal precision. An attempted lob was underhit. A fierce right-footed effort in stoppage time flashed narrowly wide. Switzerland stayed compact and forced Argentina to keep moving the ball around rather than through their defensive block.
Kobel remained alert. The Swiss defenders blocked spaces, cleared crosses and resisted one wave after another.
The match looked increasingly destined for penalties, a scenario that would not have frightened Switzerland after their shootout win over Colombia in the previous round.
Argentina had the extra player, the greater individual quality and the overwhelming support. They still required something exceptional.
Alvarez supplied it.
Alvarez steps out of Messi’s shadow
For the first time in this World Cup, Messi did not score. Alvarez ensured Argentina did not need him to.
In the 112th minute, the forward received the ball just outside the penalty area and created enough room to shape his body. His curling strike flew beyond Kobel’s full-stretch dive and into the top corner.
It was a goal worthy of deciding a quarter-final — clean, forceful and perfectly placed.
For much of the tournament, Argentina’s story had revolved around Messi’s ability to bend matches towards himself. Against Switzerland, the supporting cast finally produced the defining moment.
Alvarez’s strike was not merely the winner. It was proof that Argentina can still survive when Messi’s legs and imagination do not control the entire night.
Alvarez celebrates after scoring second goal for Argentina. Photo: Reuters
At 39, Messi had played 120 minutes against Cape Verde eight days earlier, another 90 against Egypt and then 120 more in Kansas City. The accumulated demand appeared visible.
His World Cup dream survived because Alvarez assumed the burden.
Lautaro removes the final doubt
Switzerland continued to push despite the disadvantage, but the risk eventually opened more space.
In the first minute of extra-time stoppage time, Thiago Almada fired towards goal. Kobel made the initial save, but Lautaro Martinez collected the rebound and calmly finished.
The third goal triggered pandemonium among the sky-blue-and-white majority.
It also gave the result a margin that did not reflect the contest. Switzerland had taken Argentina deep into extra time, caused them sustained problems and stood nine minutes from a possible penalty shootout.
The match ended 3-1. It had never felt comfortable.
Are Argentina too open to retain the World Cup?
Argentina’s resilience is no longer in question. Their control is.
Every knockout match has tested them in a different way. Cape Verde scored twice and forced extra time. Egypt went 2-0 ahead before collapsing late. Switzerland found repeated routes through midfield and deservedly equalised before Embolo’s dismissal.
Against the Swiss, Argentina became too passive after scoring. Their forwards did not lead an effective press, their midfield failed to control transitions, and the defence was repeatedly exposed once Switzerland moved the ball wide.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi prepares to take a corner kick. Photo: Reuters
Even with 11 against 10, Argentina were far from convincing.
Their greatest strength remains the ability to find a way out of trouble. They have Messi, depth from the bench and a collective belief hardened by the 2022 title. But the semi-final will bring a side with the runners and physical power to attack those weaknesses.
England watched Switzerland reach the edges of Argentina’s penalty area with relative ease. Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon, Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane will believe similar openings can be created in Atlanta.
Switzerland leave with their fairytale intact
The red card altered the quarter-final, but it should not erase Switzerland’s achievement.
They had not reached this stage since 1954. They had endured repeated Round of 16 exits in 2006, 2014, 2018 and 2022 before finally breaking through against Colombia.
In Kansas City, they became the first team to make Argentina trail emotionally, if not numerically, for extended periods after the interval. Ndoye was dangerous, Rodriguez offered intelligence from deep, Kobel kept the contest alive and the midfield found gaps that should concern Scaloni.
Embolo’s dismissal will haunt them. So will the knowledge that they had reached parity and appeared to have Argentina under pressure before being reduced to 10.
But Switzerland did not arrive in the quarter-final by accident, and they did not leave it quietly.
Their fairytale ended one match short of a first World Cup semi-final. It still represented their finest run in 72 years.
Argentina vs England: Old rivalry, new Messi chapter
Argentina’s reward is one of the World Cup’s most compelling rivalries.
They have not faced England in 21 years. The last meeting came when Michael Owen led England’s attack alongside a teenage Wayne Rooney. Messi was absent, serving a suspension after being sent off on his Argentina debut months earlier.
The Atlanta semi-final will therefore be Messi’s first match against England.
World Cup history between the countries is loaded. Argentina won 2-1 in 1986, when Diego Maradona scored both the “Hand of God” goal and one of the greatest individual goals in tournament history. Argentina won on penalties in 1998 after David Beckham’s red card. England responded in 2002 through Beckham’s penalty.
Demand for the latest chapter is already immense, with the cheapest tickets reportedly priced at around $3,000.
England will bring momentum from their extra-time win over Norway. Argentina will bring the aura of the defending champions and a player still chasing another final.
Neither side reached the last four smoothly.
Messi remains, but Alvarez owns the night
Messi supplied the opening goal, narrowly missed a late winner and remains the gravitational centre of Argentina’s World Cup. Yet this quarter-final belonged to others.
Mac Allister attacked the set piece. Martinez kept Argentina alive through Switzerland’s pressure. Alvarez produced the goal no goalkeeper could stop. Lautaro finished the job.
That may be the most encouraging part of an otherwise uneasy night for Argentina.
They are still defensively vulnerable. They still lose control. They still appear capable of turning every knockout tie into a national emergency.
But when Messi did not score, someone else did.
Switzerland forced Argentina to the edge. VAR altered the balance. Alvarez finally broke the resistance.
The holders move on to England. Their bid to retain the World Cup remains alive — dramatic, imperfect and increasingly dependent on more than one man.
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