NEWNow you can listen to Pak Gazette articles!
Argentina and Switzerland had very different World Cup resumes heading into Saturday night’s quarterfinal match in Kansas City.
The Argentine team led by Lionel Messi is fighting to win its second consecutive World Cup, while the Swiss found themselves in the quarterfinals for the first time since 1954 after defeating Colombia on penalties.
Argentina survived a scare against Egypt, and that set up an interesting matchup between an offensive giant and a Swiss team that has relied on its defense.
THE NEW EXPERIENCE OF WATCHING THE FOX ONE WORLD CUP
Lionel Messi and Argentina had to go through Switzerland to continue their quest for consecutive world titles. (Photo by MB Media/Getty Images)
It didn’t take long for the Argentine offensive to begin. In the 10th minute, moments after Messi curled a corner into the net, Alexis Mac Allister put the reigning champions on the board.
Argentina continued to control possession, if only slightly, while Switzerland matched it step for step and created a handful of chances. Meanwhile, Argentina failed to take advantage of a couple of excellent opportunities.
The match went into half-time with Mac Allister’s score being the only one on the board, which Switzerland would probably consider a victory in many ways. Keeping the current champions within reach is no easy task.
In the second half, Switzerland continued to press and even made Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez make some key saves.
Swiss Dan Ndoye celebrates the tying goal against Argentina on Saturday in Kansas City. (Photo by Kyle Rivas – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
In the 67th minute, that pressure paid off: the Swiss surprised the pro-Argentine crowd when Dan Ndoye tied the score at 1-1.
The momentum had definitely swung in Switzerland’s favor, but then Switzerland suffered a brutal decision by the referees.
Argentine Leandro Paredes received a yellow card, but after review, the decision was reversed and the yellow card was given to Swiss Breel Embolo.
Crucially, this was his second yellow card of the match, so he was sent off and Switzerland had to continue with just 10 players.
WATCH THE WORLD CUP FINAL ON FOX ONE
However, the Swiss managed to stay alive, and this one headed to extra time, and that was thanks to an impressive save on an Argentine corner by Swiss Gregor Kobel in the final moments of regulation time.
In the first half of extra time, Argentines Thiago Almada and Lautaro Martínez received yellow cards. Meanwhile, Switzerland managed to maintain the level of the match despite being one man less.
Argentine Julián Álvarez celebrates his goal in extra time that turned out to be the winner of the match. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
However, in the 112th minute, Argentine Julián Álvarez decided the match with a beauty from outside to secure Argentina’s ticket to the semifinals.
Unreal.
How many more scares will Argentine fans be able to endure?
Argentina added another just as added time began to extend their lead to 3-1.
It is worth noting that Messi did not score in this game, ending his scoring streak, which dated back to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, at an impressive nine games.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pak Gazette APP
The semi-final matches have already been defined and are doozies.
Spain and France will meet on Tuesday in Arlington, while Argentina will face England on Wednesday in Atlanta.
