By Daniel Feuerstein | Kansas City, MO | July 11th, 2026
In the fourth and final quarterfinal matchup in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the defending champions Argentina were facing a difficult Switzerland side that was hungry and looking to make some history. Both sides were defending hard, and when the match was going into extra time, the thought was these two sides were going to finish it off in the penatly kick shootout. But once again, a magical goal late in the match sealed the fate of the defending champions as they moved on into the semis, as Argentina got the win by the final score of three goals to one after extra time.
Early goal puts the Champions ahead
Argentina would get the opening goal to take the early lead. They earned a corner and took it from the far side. Lionel Messi grabbed the ball and walked toward the corner to prepare himself to deliver it. As soon as Messi sent the corner toward the Swiss area, running into the space at the far post was Alexis MacAllister, as he leapt in the air and delivered a flick header that beat the keeper and started running towards Messi and celebrated in the 10th minute.
The Swiss get their equalizer
Argentina’s defense was strong, but they were sitting on their lead. The Swiss were knocking on the door and trying to get that equalizer to get back into the match. The long ball was sent from the far side toward Dan Ndoye as he gained possession and surveyed the pitch on what he should do next. He did have a give-and-go with Ricardo Rodriguez, then went on an attacking run to try and get that chance. Ndoye got close to the net and swept the ball past the keeper to level the match in the 67th minute. The Swiss achieved a big feat to tie the defending champions.
Breel Embolo gets his second yellow and is gone
After Switzerland leveled the match, they would go down to ten men. Breel Embolo, who was already on a yellow card that was given to him in the 44th minute, looked to have been fouled by Leandro Paredes and was issued a yellow card in the 69th minute. But VAR called over referee João Pedro Silva Pinheiro to the monitor and showed him that Paredes never tackled his man to the ground, but Embolo did embellish the foul and announced to the crowd that the yellow card for Paredes would be removed, and a second yellow card would be given to Embolo; then the red card came out in the 72nd minute, sending him off.
Long smasher is the winner
Argentina was battling hard to get that go-ahead goal, but the Swiss defense was stopping them at every chance they had. But all of a sudden, that one moment Argentina needed came up big, and it made all their fans erupt in celebration. As the ball was circulating on the near side of the pitch, Jose Manuel Lopez held possession and looked for an open teammate to pass to. He found Julian Alvarez, who made a run toward the top of the area and unleashed a huge bending shot that dipped underneath the crossbar and inside the far post to get the biggest goal for his nation in the 112th minute.
One more goal and the game is over
When the match entered second half stoppage time in extra time, Lautaro Martinez scored the third goal of the match for Argentina and ended the hopes and dreams of Switzerland trying to find that second equalizer. Once again, Argentina, who looked like they were in big trouble, continued to find a way to win and advance into the next round. And now they will face England in the Semi-Finals on Wednesday, July 15th at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Argentina scored another dramatic winning goal in extra time to defeat the Swiss in the 2026 FIFA World Cup
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