On one side, a reigning champion team with the World Cup's all-time leading scorer. On the other, 19th-ranked Switzerland, which has already matched its best World Cup performance of all time.
That Argentina were favourites was no secret. David versus Goliath in yet another extra-time drama. But Switzerland is not a team that will fold. The last time the team in red lost a competitive match was in November 2024 (2-3 against Spain in the Nations League).
Early goal
But there are limits to how far a team can go. The match was tied 1-1 after full time and headed to penalties. Then Julián Álvarez stepped up and scored to make it 2-1 with just minutes left in the second period of extra time. The nail in the coffin was then put in place by Lautaro Martínez when Argentina countered to make it 3-1.
The Argentines are used to drama by now. In the round of 16, they were forced into an extra-time victory by Cape Verde, and in the round of 16, they were down 0-2 for a long time before turning the tables and winning with three goals in the final ten minutes of the match.
"Obviously you have to suffer, you have to know how to suffer. That's how the games have played out for us," says match hero Julian Alvarez.
Before that, the tens of thousands of Argentine fans had been thrown between hope and despair like mittens in the wind.
Argentina had not been impressive in the finals, but Alexis Mac Allister gave the team the lead just under ten minutes into the match. The 27-year-old headed in Lionel Messi's perfectly taken corner and Switzerland suffered their first defeat of the tournament.
However, Switzerland started the second half with clearly more energy and in the 67th minute the Swiss bench erupted in joy when Dan Ndoye thundered in to make it 1-1.
Red card for Switzerland
Just minutes later, the bench was back in uproar, this time amid wild protests after Breel Embolo was shown his second yellow card of the match. The Rennes striker found himself in a melee with Leandro Paredes and, after a VAR review, was sent to the dressing room with his face in his hands. From there, he watched Switzerland lose the match in extra time.
For Argentina, England now awaits in the semi-final in Atlanta on Wednesday at 9:00 PM.
