Embolo's dive decides the quarterfinal – Switzerland loses to Argentina while down a man

Argentina took an early lead, but Switzerland fought back. In the 67th minute, Dan Ndoye equalized to make it 1:1 and brought the Swiss back into the game. Just three minutes later came the moment that would turn the match: At the halfway line, Embolo sensed an opponent charging toward him and took off before any effective contact had occurred.

The decisive moment

Referee Joao Pinheiro initially failed to read the situation and showed the yellow card to Argentine player Leandro Paredes. The VAR, however, intervened with the note "mistaken identity" and reviewed the incident. On the screen, the official recognized that Embolo had already been hit while in the air.

Pinheiro consequently changed his decision. The yellow card went instead to the Swiss striker. Since it was his second booking following a sanctioned foul shortly before halftime, the number 7 was sent off. Embolo had done his colors a disservice and walked off toward the locker room with tears in his eyes, where he had to watch his teammates battle for the semifinal ticket while down a man.

The Sportschau referee experts classified the decision as correct. Sascha Amhof, who is covering the tournament for SRF, stressed: "Denn seit Turnierbeginn liegen die Fakten dafür auf dem Tisch, die Teams sind entsprechend instruiert worden." The "mistaken identity" rule had been newly introduced for cases in which the wrong player is booked on the pitch. "Und das gilt eben auch teamübergreifend," Amhof added.

Expert reaction

Down a man, Yakin responded with a tactical reshuffle. Denis Zakaria moved into the center, the Swiss switched to a 5-3-1 formation and were now focused on little more than reaching the penalty shootout. Argentina pushed for the decision and made consistent use of their numerical advantage. After 67 minutes the Swiss had managed the equalizer, but the additional 30 minutes with ten men took their toll.

In extra time it was Ángel Di María who was played free in the box and produced the 1:0 final scoreline – a déjà vu for Switzerland, who had already been eliminated at the 2014 World Cup by Argentina through a Di María goal in the 118th minute. Back then, Xhaka had been in the starting lineup and had been substituted in the 66th minute, something that still angers him to this day. "Uns ist Unrecht widerfahren," he had fumed at the time.

Déjà vu after 2014

The match ultimately ended 1:3 when Lautaro Martínez completed the Argentine counterattack in the closing stages to seal the final score. The victory was equivalent to Switzerland's first-ever semifinal appearance at a World Cup. Yakin had emphasized before the game: "Es muss ein Spiel werden, in dem wir Freude haben und auch der ganzen Welt zeigen, dass auch eine kleine Nation wie die Schweiz einen Großen ärgern kann."

In a remarkable video broadcast on the show "FIFA World Cup on FOX After Hours," the Swiss coach had also responded with humor to mockers. "Wir sind präzise wie eine Schweizer Uhr, zuverlässig wie eine Schweizer Bank, süß wie Schweizer Schokolade und hungrig wie der Steinbock in unseren fantastischen Bergen," Yakin said in it. Both the national team and the Swiss Embassy in the USA shared the video on their social media channels.

The emotional disappointment among the Swiss stood in contrast to Argentine anticipation. Already 24 hours before kickoff, the "Albiceleste" supporters had bathed the venue in Kansas City in the national colors of blue and white. Messi and his teammates are now in the semifinal, where they will face the winner of the match between Norway and England.

Stadium and records

Alongside the dramatic course of the game, the stadium question in Kansas City also provided talking points. Unlike the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, the venue has no closable roof and can offer no protection either from the intense heat or from thunderstorms. If lightning strikes within an eight-mile radius of the stadium, the match is automatically suspended for 30 minutes.

Away from the pitch as well, the 2026 World Cup is producing records. According to FIFA, 6,259,584 people had already attended the 96 matches before the quarterfinals – an average of 65,204 per game. The organizers also announced that the round-of-16 match between hosts USA and Belgium (1:4) produced record viewing figures in the United States for a sporting event outside the NFL this century – an average of 50.1 million viewers.

In the Argentine camp, satisfaction prevailed after the final whistle. Messi, with his eight tournament goals, can continue to chase the record of Just Fontaine (13 goals at the 1958 World Cup). Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé (seven goals each) are also in top form and could become a danger to the Frenchman. Should he reach the semifinal, the Paris Saint-Germain superstar would still have two games to break the record.

Argentina in the semifinal

For Switzerland, however, the tournament ended with a historic achievement. The federation was able to celebrate record revenues of more than 20 million Swiss francs, should reaching a World Cup semifinal be achieved. "Nach 72 Jahren mit der Schweiz hier stehen und gegen den Weltmeister spielen zu dürfen, macht mich sehr stolz," a 33-year-old player had said before the game.

Captain Granit Xhaka showed fighting spirit after the defeat: "Wir müssen versuchen, das Spiel zu genießen," he had said in advance. Xhaka, who had reached a World Cup quarterfinal with Switzerland for the first time, now looks with his team to the tasks ahead – and to a future in which the Alpine republic has finally arrived among the world's elite.

The parallels to the 2014 World Cup are striking. Back then too, Switzerland held out against Argentina for 118 minutes before Di María struck in stoppage time of extra time. Coach Yakin had used the historic duel to motivate his team: "Sie sind spielerisch sehr stark, sie verteidigen gut und haben eine sehr gute Balance," he described the opponent. But this time it was not the opponents' footballing class that sealed the exit – it was a dive.