Defending champion Argentina defeated Switzerland 3-1 after extra time to book their place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinals last Saturday.Julian Alvarez broke the deadlock in the 112th minute with a spectacular long-range strike before Lautaro Martinez added the third goal in the final moments of added time.Argentina will now face England in the semifinals this Wednesday after the Three Lions beat Norway 2-1 earlier.
Mac Allister gave Argentina an early lead
Argentina started brightly and took the lead in the 10th minute.Lionel Messi delivered a corner from the left, and Alexis McAllister found the net to put the defending champions ahead.Messi didn’t score in the game, ending his nine-game scoring streak at the World Cup, but he still played a key role in Argentina’s victory.
Switzerland fought back before the red card
Switzerland refused to give in and equalized in the 67th minute through Dan Ndoye.However, the game changed dramatically a few minutes later.Leandro Paredes was first shown a yellow card because of Breel Embolo’s challenge. After a VAR review, the officials ruled Embolo had gone down before any contact was made.Since Embolo had already been booked earlier in the match, the yellow card was transferred to him under FIFA’s “mistaken identity” protocol. This became his second booking, and Switzerland were reduced to 10 men.This is the second time in World Cup history that the “mistaken identity” rule has been used to overturn a yellow-card decision.
Argentina is producing more people
Despite having a numerical advantage, Argentina had to wait until extra time to find the breakthrough.Julian Alvarez finally put his side back in front with a superb strike from distance in the 112th minute.As Switzerland pushed for another equaliser, Lautaro Martinez scored deep into time to seal a 3-1 victory.
Argentina continues its unbeaten run
Argentina have now extended their unbeaten run to FIFA World Cup to 12 games.The reigning champions had to work hard in the knockout stages, needing extra time to beat Cape Verde before coming from two goals down against Egypt in the Round of 16.Against Switzerland, they once again found a way to win and keep alive their dream of holding the World Cup.The victory also means that the top four teams in the FIFA rankings – Argentina, England, France and Spain – have reached the semifinals.