Julian Alvarez’s exceptional curling strike and Lautaro Martinez’s finish took Argentina past 10-player Switzerland after extra time in Kansas City to set up a World Cup 2026 semi-final against England on Wednesday.
Atletico Madrid forward Alvarez, who was the subject of a £129 million bid from Real Madrid in June, netted in spectacular fashion in the 112th minute, with Martinez slotting in nine minutes later as part of a counter-attack to condemn Die Nati to another cruel defeat in the fixture, which they lost in the 118th minute in the last 16 in 2014.
Alexis Mac Allister’s superb header put Argentina ahead after 10 minutes from a corner by Lionel Messi, who remains the joint-tournament top scorer on eight goals but failed to find the net for the first time in seven knockout matches in the competition.
Switzerland had much of the momentum during the first half and capitalised on another spell of superiority to equalise in the 67th minute, when Dan Ndoye cut inside from the left and fired in following a neat interchange with Ricardo Rodriguez.
Murat Yakin’s team had forward Breel Embolo sent off for diving five minutes after their goal, performing admirably to hold their own before their undefeated run since the start of qualifying came to an end.
Argentina vs Switzerland: Embolo sees red at World Cup
Embolo was inconsolable at his dismissal, which was decided following a Video Assistant Referee check.
“If it’s by the letter of the law and they’ve seen it as simulation, it has to be a yellow card,” former Jamaica midfielder Jobi McAnuff told ITV of the second caution.
“To send the player off for that in a game of this magnitude… I get it, he’s trying to win a penalty, [but] it just feels a bit harsh.
“Just looking at the replay, I feel for him and for his teammates.”
Alvarez ‘deserved’ goal in Argentina vs Colombia
Ex-England winger Andros Townsend was suitably impressed by Alvarez’s goal. “He sees the space in the far corner,” pointed out Townsend.
“He whips it right in the top corner. What a goal… he worked tirelessly throughout the game.
“He deserves that. He was unbelievable all game.”
World Cup 2026: Argentina team vs Switzerland
Argentina were unchanged from their 3-2 win over Egypt in the last 16, in which they recovered from 2-0 behind with 12 minutes of regular time remaining.
Argentina starting XI: Emiliano Martinez, Nicolas Tagliafico, Lisandro Martinez, Cristian Romero, Nahuel Molina, Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez, Julian Alvarez, Lionel Messi
Argentina substitutes: Juan Musso, Geronimo Rulli, Marcos Senesi, Gonzalo Montiel, Nicolas Otamendi, Facundo Medina, Valentin Barco, Giovani Lo Celso, Exequiel Palacios, Nico Gonzalez, Thiago Almada, Giuliano Simeone, Nico Paz, Jose Manuel Lopez, Lautaro Martinez
World Cup 2026: Switzerland team vs Argentina
Johan Manzambi contributed three goals and four assists for Switzerland before being ruled out of their win over Colombia with an injury to his left knee and the 20-year-old remained sidelined for this contest.
Djibril Sow replaced Ardon Jashari in their one change, while defender Luca Jaquez and midfielder Michel Aebischer had muscle injuries and were on the bench.
Switzerland starting XI: Gregor Kobel, Nico Elvedi, Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodriguez, Denis Zakaria, Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka, Djibril Sow, Fabian Rieder, Breel Embolo, Dan Ndoye
Switzerland substitutes: Yvon Mvogo, Marvin Keller, Miro Muheim, Silvan Widmer, Eray Comert, Aurele Amenda, Luca Jaquez, Ardon Jashari, Michel Aebischer, Christian Fassnacht, Ruben Vargas, Noah Okafor, Zeki Amdouni, Cedric Itten
World Cup 2026: Argentina vs Switzerland stats
- Argentina have not lost in 12 World Cup matches, which is their longest such undefeated streak in history
- They have scored in each of their 15 World Cup games since losing 3-0 to Croatia during the 2018 group stage
- With at least two goals in each of their last 12 outings, Argentina are on the longest run of scoring multiple goals in the competition history (Uruguay had 11 between 1930 and 1954)
- Messi became the first player to score in six straight World Cup knockout matches against Egypt but his penalty miss ensured the 39-year-old is the only player in history to fail to convert two spot kickat a single edition of the World Cup
- The captain’s eight goals at the 2026 edition were the most of any player before the quarter-finals, while only Brazil’s Ademir (9 in 1950) has ever scored more at a single World Cup among all South Americans
- Switzerland have never beaten Argentina in eight attempts across all competitions
- Only against Russia have Switzerland established a worse record without ever winning (12 times, including games vs USSR)
- They had been the only team yet to trail at any point across the 2026 World Cup campaign, including qualifiers
- From their 11 World Cup matches against South American opposition, Switzerland have one win (D3 L7). That victory came in a 2-1 win over Ecuador in 2014, though they did progress past Colombia in the last round
- Embolo had been directly involved in 13 goals across his last 17 international games across all competitions, scoring 11 and assisting two
