Argentina through to World Cup semifinal against Switzerland after extra time

Swiss equalizer and Swiss fight

Switzerland held its own for long stretches of regular time and drew level through Dan Ndoye in the 67th minute. Ricardo Rodriguez had initiated the move with a pass that Ndoye finished off inside the box. It was already Switzerland's second equalizer in the space of a few minutes, after Emiliano Martínez had parried a header from Ndoye in the 65th minute. The match developed into an open exchange of blows.

Both sides squandered further chances during regular time. In the 85th minute, Messi failed to beat Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel with a chip from close range – the same Kobel who had played a key role in the round of 16 against Colombia. In the 99th minute, Kobel also saved a bicycle kick from Lisandro Martínez, paving his team's path to extra time. At the other end, Emiliano Martínez prevented a deficit in the 32nd minute when he denied Breel Embolo one-on-one on a counterattack.

Embolo's sending-off as the key moment

The turning point of the match came via a decision by Portuguese referee João Pinheiro in the 72nd minute. Following a VAR intervention, Pinheiro showed Breel Embolo a yellow-red card for diving – the first yellow-red card of the entire tournament. Embolo left the pitch in tears, „er war untröstlich". Earlier, the same official had rescinded a yellow card for Argentina's Leandro Paredes following a VAR review.

With the numerical advantage, Argentina pushed for the decisive goal. In first-half stoppage time of extra time, in the 110th minute, Julián Álvarez made it 2-1 for the South Americans. The Atlético Madrid forward fired a shot into the far top corner to effectively settle the contest. Thiago Almada had struck the outside of the post in the 95th minute before Álvarez restored the lead.

Argentine goals in extra time

The final blow was delivered by „Joker" Lautaro Martínez in the 121st minute, who completed a counterattack to make it 3-1. Before that, the Argentines had controlled proceedings for long spells, also because the Swiss side were missing their top scorer Johan Manzambi. The 20-year-old, who had contributed three goals and two assists in four games at the tournament, was absent due to knee problems.

From a Swiss perspective, the defeat ended a strong World Cup campaign. Murat Yakin's team reached a World Cup quarterfinal for the first time since the 1954 home World Cup and fell only narrowly to the defending champions. A look at the Swiss tournament run so far underlines how remarkable it was: the team had equalized in the second half against Argentina after looking genuinely dangerous in attack for long periods.

Reactions after the match

Murat Yakin was nevertheless „unglaublich stolz" with his team after the game. „Wenn man den Spielverlauf gesehen hat, waren wir viel besser als der Gegner", said the Swiss national team coach. At the same time, he conceded: „Am Ende können wir uns davon aber nichts kaufen." Yakin, who had already led Switzerland to a European Championship quarterfinal, can be considered the „erfolgreichster Schweizer Nationaltrainer der Geschichte" on the strength of that record.

Lionel Scaloni, whose team had also needed extra time to beat Cape Verde in the round of 16, spoke openly about the decisive incident: „Heute war das Glück auf unserer Seite, weil einer ihrer Spieler vom Platz gestellt wurde." The Argentina coach also pointed to the difficult phases of the match: „Wir wussten, dass sie ein physisches Team sind. Das hat uns große Schwierigkeiten bereitet." His verdict was still a conciliatory one: „Wir müssen realistisch sein, es gibt Dinge, die wir verbessern müssen. Aber was diese Mannschaft erreicht hat, ist historisch, auch wenn wir besser hätten spielen können."

The Argentine team, whose starting lineup featured nine players who had also started the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, continues its run at the tournament in the United States. The semifinal on Wednesday (kickoff 9:00 p.m. CEST) in Atlanta pits them against England. The British had won their quarterfinal against Norway 2-1 after extra time. For Argentina, the matchup carries a particular resonance – after all, England lost to Argentina in the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal thanks to goals by Diego Maradona, including the famous „Hand of God" goal.

Outlook on the semifinal against England

For Julián Álvarez, whose market value is estimated at 100 million euros and who is contracted to Atlético Madrid until 2030, the victory was a special moment. „So ein Sieg ist ein enormer Motivationsschub. Wir gewinnen zwar lieber anders, aber das Wichtigste ist, dass wir uns weiterentwickeln", said the scorer of the 2-1. Messi himself remains the most outstanding Argentine performer at this tournament, with eight goals and two assists (ten scorer points combined).

Among the 69,045 spectators in a sold-out Arrowhead Stadium, the Argentine support was documented with songs in Spanish referencing the Malvinas, Diego Maradona and the upcoming semifinal opponent. „Wer nicht hüpft, der ist ein Brite" – with this chant, Argentine fans were already stoking the rivalry against England before the semifinal.

The Swiss team, whose starting lineup had an average age of around 30, had to absorb the personnel setback of Embolo's sending-off after the match. Coach Yakin paid explicit tribute to his team's effort and stressed the value of this historic result for Swiss football.

Looking at the tournament as a whole, a parallel to Argentina's rollercoaster ride emerged: already in the group stage and round of 16, the South Americans had needed late drama, scoring a wild 3-2 winner against Egypt in stoppage time (90+2) and also needing extra time (111') to get past Cape Verde. The Argentine daily La Nación summed it up: „Die Illusion fragt nicht danach, wer besser spielt: Argentinien findet immer einen Star, der das Team rettet und den WM-Traum am Leben erhält."