World Cup 2026: Argentina beats Switzerland 3-1 to secure final four spot

The Argentine men’s national football team beat Switzerland 3-1 to secure a spot in the World Cup 2026 semifinals. The Albiceleste will now go up against England on Wednesday, July 15. Argentina started the game on the back foot but took the lead with their first real goal-scoring chance. In the 10th minute, star and captain Lionel Messi put in a swerving corner kick that Alexis MacAllister headed in for the 1-0 lead. Despite struggling to make waves, it held the lead until half-time.  However, the second half started poorly for the Albiceleste, who gave away possession and started defending increasingly deeper. In the 68th minute, Swiss defender Ricardo Rodríguez found forward Dan Ndoye, who slipped into the box and slipped a low shot past Emiliano Martínez to tie the game. Just four minutes after tying, however, the Swiss were reduced to ten men after the video assistant referee alerted judge Joan Pinheiro that Swiss forward Breel Embolo had dived to simulate a foul. This earned him his second yellow card, which is an automatic send-off. The match went into extra time after neither team could break the 1-1 tie after the 90 minutes of regulation. In extra time, Argentina looked to cash in on the advantage of having an extra man but looked unable to break down the Swiss defense. It was striker Julián Álvarez who finally broke the deadlock in the 112th minute of extra time. The former River Plate wonderkid picked up the ball at the edge of the box and scored one of the goals of the tournament, putting an unstoppable shot into the goalkeeper’s top-right corner. In the 121st minute of added time, Lautaro Martínez tapped in the ball after a counterattack led by Thiago Almada, making it 3-1 and wrapping up the game for the Albiceleste. Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni admitted his team “struggled” to overcome Switzerland’s physicality despite having anticipated it. “Luck was on our side today. They went a man down, and then the team was able to attack,” he said, adding that Argentina needs to be “realists” and accept there are things to improve, even if “it’s better when you win.” Scaloni didn’t give much credit to the upcoming Argentina vs. England game, which will write a new chapter in their storied rivalry. “It would’ve been the same between them and Norway,” he said. “We’ll go up against a great team. Now we have to recover, which we need to and is crucial.” Cover image: Selección Argentina Twitter