Argentina will meet England in the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup following a thrilling triumph against Switzerland in scorching Kansas City.
Julian Alvarez resolved a disputed game in extra time with an extraordinary moment, bending an impregnable 25-yard shot beyond Swiss goalie Gregor Kobel to arrange the clash with Thomas Tuchel’s team—a contest that will be broadcast live on the BBC.
Switzerland experienced heartbreak after valiantly defending with only 10 men in a dramatic second half.
Star forward Breel Embolo received a second yellow card for simulation after a review by the video assistant referee.
Embolo seemed to be fouled by Leandro Paredes near the halfway line, resulting in a yellow card for Paredes.
Nonetheless, the referee was summoned by VAR to review the mistaken identity rule, and the replay revealed that the Swiss player had obviously faked contact.
The Paredes yellow card was annulled, and Embolo, who had received a prior booking, was dismissed to his dismay and Swiss indignation.
Only five minutes prior to Embolo’s red card, Switzerland had rightly leveled the score after being the superior team for a significant part of this match against the defending world champions.
Argentina might have expected an easy path to the semifinals when Alexis Mac Allister redirected Lionel Messi’s corner at the near post after only 10 minutes.
However, they did not capitalize on their lead, allowing Switzerland to find their rhythm before Nottingham Forest’s winger Dan Ndoye scored in the 67th minute.
Ndoye surged in from the left, executed a one-two with Ricardo Rodriguez, and slid his shot between the legs of Emiliano Martinez.
However, Argentina took control following the Embolo red card, and after lengthy periods of effort, they were rewarded by Alvarez’s stroke of brilliance.
Switzerland sought an equalizer, but they were caught off guard on the counter, allowing Lautaro Martinez to score as Argentina maintained their pursuit of consecutive World Cups.
For the third consecutive game, Argentina secured a tumultuous victory with a lackluster display even though they began the match as clear frontrunners.
After taking the lead early, they went almost 90 minutes without another shot on target between Mac Allister’s opener and an athletic effort from Lisandro Martinez late in second-half injury time that was skillfully saved low by Kobel.
Emiliano Martinez was more active as a goalkeeper, executing a save from Ndoye at close range. Embolo was called offside during the buildup, but replays suggested this call could have been reversed if Ndoye had scored.
Martinez additionally stopped headers from Embolo and Ndoye, as well as a long-distance shot by Granit Xhaka.
However, Argentina possesses an overwhelming amount of firepower, making their success inevitable—even with Messi failing to find the net for the first time in this World Cup.
Argentina has netted goals in 15 straight World Cup matches, scoring at least two in each of the last 11. By finding the net more than once here, they established a new World Cup record for the longest streak of scoring multiple goals in the tournament’s history, surpassing Uruguay’s record from 1930 to 1954.
Messi also added to his immense collection of records by becoming the first player to achieve 10 assists in World Cup matches.
Switzerland will be left contemplating what could have happened after a game where they dominated for significant periods—and where the Embolo red card changed everything.
There is no doubt that Embolo fell without Paredes making contact; however, he might have been expecting another harsh challenge since Argentina faced little punishment for their considerable physical play.
The match saw a total of 32 fouls, with 14 committed by the Argentinians, yet no yellow cards were shown to the South Americans until extra time.
The result is that Switzerland could not overcome their quarterfinal jinx. In the last eight major competitions, they have played six matches and lost every one.
Switzerland will also lament the absence of crucial midfielder Johan Manzambi, who had a remarkable beginning to the tournament before missing the last two matches due to a knee injury.
Argentina is set to face England in the second semi-final at 20:00 BST on Wednesday, July 15, in Atlanta.
The winner of that game will subsequently compete against either France or Spain in the final of the 2026 World Cup.
