Published: July 12, 2026 at 12:48 pm
It turned out to be yet another hard day in office for Lionel Messi’s Argentina but in the end, they managed to secure their place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinals after defeating Switzerland 3-1 following extra time in an exciting quarterfinal encounter in Kansas City.
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“The truth is we suffered today. We knew they were a very physical team. I think they put us in a lot of difficulty. We weren’t able to get out of certain situations. The truth is that luck was on our side today, because they had a player sent off and, from there, the team went on the attack. We have to be realistic, we have things to improve on, but winning is always better. That said, what this team achieved today is historic. Even though we could have played better, being in a semi-final again is historic,” said Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni.
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Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring with a historic early strike before Switzerland fought back through Dan Ndoye to force extra time. However, Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez struck late to send the reigning world champions into the last four.
Argentina became the first team ever to score two goals in the same extra-time half in multiple matches in one World Cup. Pics: FIFA/X
Argentina made the perfect start, taking the lead in just the 10th minute through Alexis Mac Allister. Lionel Messi’s dangerous corner found Mac Allister inside the box, and the midfielder powered a header into the back of the net to register his first FIFA World Cup 2026 goal. The strike also marked Argentina’s fastest goal of the tournament, handing Lionel Scaloni’s side an early advantage.
Alexis Mac Allister’s goal meant Switzerland fell behind for the first time in 17 hours and 10 minutes in qualifying for or at these finals.
Switzerland gradually settled into the contest and continued to search for an equaliser, but Argentina’s defence stood firm to preserve their narrow lead heading into halftime.
The Swiss eventually found the breakthrough in the 67th minute. Ricardo Rodríguez delivered a precise cross into the penalty area, where Dan Ndoye scored a header, levelling the score at 1-1.
Switzerland’s hopes suffered a major setback just five minutes later when Breel Embolo was shown a straight red card in the 72nd minute, forcing them to play the remainder of the contest with 10 men. Despite their numerical disadvantage, Switzerland defended resolutely to take the match into extra time.
Argentina find the decisive breakthrough
Argentina finally found the decisive breakthrough in the 112th minute. José López picked out Julián Álvarez on the edge of the area, and the forward produced a sublime curling finesse effort that flew into the top-right corner, restoring Argentina’s lead at 2-1.
With Switzerland committing bodies forward in search of another equaliser, Argentina sealed the victory in the final minute of extra time. Lautaro Martínez found the back of the net in the 120th minute to make it 3-1, putting the result beyond doubt and confirming Argentina’s place in the FIFA World Cup semifinals.
Argentina became the first team ever to score two goals in the same extra-time half in multiple matches in one World Cup.
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Mac Allister’s first goal of the FIFA World Cup 2026, followed by late strikes from Álvarez and Martínez, proved decisive as Argentina once again demonstrated their resilience to keep their title defence alive.
“(I’m) very happy, above all. We kept trying until the end, things got difficult even though we had an extra man, the extra time… But well, we knew that if we kept going all together, the goal was going to come, and that’s how it was. Obviously, we would have preferred to win it earlier, but we know it’s not easy. All the matches at the World Cup have been like that. And well, with two more to go, we’re going to go all out for it,” said Argentine forward Julian Alvarez.
Argentina netted in their 15th successive World Cup game. The only teams with longer scoring streaks in the competition are Uruguay (16 games from 1930-1962), Hungary (17 games from 1934-1962), Germany (18 games from 1986-1998), Germany (18 games from 1934-1958) and Brazil (18 games from 1930-1958).
