FIFA World Cup: Argentina beat Switzerland to set England semi-final
What's the story
Defending champions Argentina will take on England in the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026. The South Americans secured their spot after a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Switzerland in extra time. The match was played at Kansas City Stadium on Saturday, where Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring for Argentina with a header from Lionel Messi's cross in the 10th minute.
Match developments
Controversial red card swings the match in Argentina's favor
Switzerland leveled the score in the 67th minute with Dan Ndoye scoring from close range. However, their hopes were dashed when Breel Embolo was controversially sent off for simulation after receiving a second yellow card in the 72nd minute. The decision was reviewed by VAR, which confirmed that Embolo had dived to win the free kick.
Game tension
Argentina miss out on 2 goals in normal time
Despite Argentina's relentless pursuit of a winner in normal time, they had to settle for extra time. Lissandro Martinez came close to scoring with a scissor-kick but failed to beat the keeper. Messi also had a chance when he was one-on-one but his chip was saved, and the assistant referee flagged for offside. However, replays showed that Messi's goal may well have stood, his ninth in six tournament appearances.
Match climax
Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez seal the deal for Argentina
In the 112th minute, Julian Alvarez scored a stunning long-range effort that rifled into the top right corner of the goal, giving Argentina a 2-1 lead. As Switzerland pushed for an equalizer, Lautaro Martinez capitalized on a counter-attack led by Thiago Almada and slotted home Argentina's third goal deep into stoppage time in extra time.
Upcoming challenge
Will fatigue play a role in the semi-finals?
The victory over Switzerland extended Argentina's unbeaten run to 12 World Cup matches. They will now face England in the semi-finals on Wednesday in Atlanta. Spain will take on France, the team Argentina beat in the Qatar 2022 final, on Tuesday for another last-four clash. The taxing nature of this tournament could come into play as both teams were pushed to extra time in their respective quarter-final matches.
Stats
Here are the match stats
From 23 attempts, Argentina recorded seven shots on target. Switzerland managed five strikes on target from 13 attempts. The winning team had a 59% ball possession in the game. They completed 616 passes with a fine 88% accuracy. Switzerland's passes count was 453. Their accuracy was 84%.
Landmarks
Alvarez scripts these feats
As per Opta, Four of Alvarez's five career World Cup goals have been scored in the knockout rounds, tied with Diego Maradona for the second-most by an Argentinian player, behind only Messi (7). Argentina have emerged as winners (including penalty shoot-out wins) in 11 of their 13 extra-time matches in the World Cup. Embolo became the fourth player on record to receive a second yellow card for simulation in the World Cup and the first since Asamoah Gyan for Ghana vs. Brazil in 2006.
Messi
Feats for Messi as well
Messi has reached 20 passes for shots in the 2026 World Cup. He is the first player since 1966 to reach this amount in three different editions of the tournament (21 in 2022, 24 in 2014). Messi's 10 World Cup assists have set up goals for 10 different players. It's the first time Argentina have reached back-to-back World Cup semis since 1990. They have reached the World Cup semi-final for the third time in their last four tournaments.