Argentina beats Switzerland in extra time to reach World Cup semifinals

Argentina survived Switzerland 3-1 in extra time in Kansas City, Missouri, and booked a place in the World Cup semifinals after a match that was level 1-1 through 90 minutes. Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring, Dan Ndoye answered for Switzerland, and Breel Embolo was sent off before Julián Álvarez struck in the extra period and Lautaro Martínez finished the job.

Lionel Scaloni framed the victory around endurance rather than flair, stressing the value of the full squad and the team’s ability to suffer and keep moving forward in the tournament. That same theme ran through the reactions from Julián Álvarez, Lautaro Martínez, José Manuel López and Leandro Paredes, as Argentina’s run again leaned on depth, belief and the willingness to absorb pressure when the game tightened.

Switzerland entered the quarterfinal after its own exhausting route, having beaten Colombia on penalties in Vancouver after 120 scoreless minutes. ESPN tracked Argentina’s attacking edge going into the match, noting a 2.80-goal average per game compared with Switzerland’s 1.80, while also pointing out that the Swiss had just come through a 120-minute knockout battle plus a penalty shootout. In Kansas City, that wear showed as Argentina kept pushing until the extra-time breakthrough arrived.

The result revived a familiar World Cup memory between the two sides. Their most famous meeting before this one came in 2014, when Argentina beat Switzerland 1-0 in extra time on Ángel Di María’s goal in the round of 16. This time, the margin was wider and the route more demanding, with Argentina again leaning on composure late in the match.

Gregor Kobel and Murat Yakin were left to digest an elimination that had been building toward the final whistle once Embolo’s dismissal tilted the game. Argentina now moves on to face England in the semifinal on Wednesday, July 16, 2026, in Atlanta, carrying forward a tournament defined less by ease than by the capacity to endure.