One Goal Up. Red Card. Ten Men Made It Level. Then Argentina Broke Them.
Mac Allister scored in the 10th. Argentina ahead.
Switzerland equalised. Ndoye in the 67th. Embolo in the 72nd. Two goals. Somehow ahead. Somehow ten men — Jashari had been sent off — were winning.
Then extra time. Álvarez in the 112th. A golazo. Then Lautaro in the 120+1st. Empty net off the rebound from a Kobel save.
3-1. Argentina are in the World Cup semi-finals. They face England in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Mac Allister. Corner. Header. Ten Minutes.
Messi swung in the corner. Mac Allister was surrounded. Did not care. 1.76 metres against towering Swiss defenders. He headed it home firmly. 1-0.
Argentina were in control of the first half from that point. Switzerland had chances but Emiliano Martínez kept things intact. The Swiss were playing well. The scoreline did not reflect how competitive it was.
Switzerland Won the Second Half. Then Lost the Match.
Then everything changed at once.
Jashari was sent off. Ten men. Any hope Switzerland had of dominating the game ended with his red card.
And yet. Ndoye scored in the 67th. Somehow. Ten men. Away from home. Against Argentina. Level. 1-1.
Five minutes later Embolo. 2-1 Switzerland. Ten men. Winning. The whole situation was extraordinary.
Emiliano Martínez was keeping Argentina alive. He made save after save in those final minutes of normal time. Without him it could have been three or four.
Final whistle at ninety. Switzerland 2-1 up with ten men. The most improbable extra-time scenario Argentina had faced all tournament.
Álvarez. 112th Minute. Over.
Extra time. Switzerland exhausted. Ten men for 50 minutes. The legs going.
Álvarez received the ball outside the box. Drove at goal. Hit it.
Top corner. Unstoppable. Absolutely unstoppable.
Romero said after the game it seems Argentina cannot win without suffering. He was right. This squad finds a way. Every time it looks like the tournament is going wrong, someone produces something.
Álvarez’s goal was the moment. 2-2. Momentum completely flipped.
Lautaro. Empty Net. Done.
120+1. Almada charged into the penalty area after Álvarez had poked the ball away from Xhaka deep in Argentina’s half. He went around Jashari cleverly — wait, Jashari was already off. Around a defender cleverly. Drove at goal. Kobel saved it.
The rebound fell to Lautaro Martínez. Empty net from just outside the 18-yard box. He could not miss. He did not.
3-1. Argentina. Semi-finals. England waiting.
Switzerland Leave With Heads High
This was Switzerland’s best World Cup campaign since 1954. Quarter-finals. They led 2-1 with ten men with a minute of normal time left. They came within moments of beating Argentina.
They did not beat Argentina. That is the difference between an extraordinary tournament run and a legendary one. They had the chance. They did not take it.
Kobel played well. Rodríguez and Akanji were excellent for long stretches. Ndoye and Embolo scoring when it was ten men against eleven — that does not happen in normal circumstances.
It nearly worked. Argentina found a way.
England Next
Atlanta Stadium. Wednesday. Semi-final.
England beat Norway in their quarter-final. Bellingham scored twice. England and Argentina at a World Cup semi-final. There is no bigger game in football when these two nations meet at a tournament.
Argentina and England. Last met at a World Cup in 1998 when Argentina won on penalties. Before that 1986 — the Hand of God. Before that 1966. The fixture has a history that goes beyond football.
Wednesday in Atlanta, it starts again.
For more 2026 World Cup coverage visit FawaNews World Cup 2026. Full bracket, fixtures and results at the official FIFA World Cup 2026 website.
Argentina 3-1 Switzerland (AET) FIFA World Cup 2026 — Quarter-Final | Sunday, 12 July 2026 | Kansas City Stadium, Missouri
Goals: Alexis Mac Allister 10′ (ARG, assist Messi corner) | Dan Ndoye 67′ (SUI) | Breel Embolo 72′ (SUI) | Julián Álvarez 112′ (ARG) | Lautaro Martínez 120+1′ (ARG, assist Almada rebound) Red Card: Ardon Jashari (SUI)
Argentina XI: E. Martínez | Molina, Romero, L. Martínez, Tagliafico | Mac Allister, Paredes, De Paul, Enzo Fernández | Álvarez, Messi Subs: Lautaro (for Álvarez), Almada (for De Paul), others
Switzerland XI: Kobel | Widmer, Akanji, Rodríguez, Rieder | Freuler, Xhaka, Jashari | Shaqiri, Embolo, Ndoye Subs: Vargas (for Jashari after red card), others
Stats: Possession ARG 54% SUI 37% | Shots on target ARG 7 SUI 5 | Total attempts ARG 22 SUI 11
90 mins: 1-2 SUI leading | AET: 3-2 ARG (wait — 3-1, two ARG goals in ET)
HT: 1-0 ARG | 90 mins: 1-2 SUI | FT (AET): 3-1 ARG
Next: Argentina vs England — Semi-Final | Wednesday, 16 July 2026 | Atlanta Stadium, Georgia
