KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Perhaps it is in the character of Argentina’s national men’s soccer team that the reigning World Cup champion always finds a way to win.
Perhaps it is simply its ability to suffer.
Whether it was tiny Cape Verde taking them to extra time in the first round of knockout play, or Egypt burying them in a two-goal hole late in their round-of-16 pairing, veteran star Lionel Messi and La Albiceleste have always been able to survive.
And that was the case once more Saturday night, when Julián Alvarez’s long-range strike in the 112th minute and Lautaro Martínez’s finish later in extra time sent them back to the semifinals with a thrilling 3-1 victory over upset-minded Switzerland at raucous Arrowhead Stadium.
“We’re among the best four,” Alvarez said, “so we’re meeting our objectives, and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. The whole match was hard, and we would have loved to have the win earlier, but we tried to get the win however we could.”
“It seems like if there’s no suffering, it doesn’t count,” Argentina’s Leandro Paredes added, “but as long as the results come through.”
Alexis Mac Allister had the other goal off a corner kick from Messi for La Albiceleste, helping to send them into a showdown with England on Wednesday at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Three Lions beat Norway 2-1 earlier in the day, also in extra time, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
With the tournament’s first semifinal pitting France against Spain on Tuesday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the only thing keeping this World Cup from having an all-Europe final four is the presence of South American power Argentina and its 39-year-old striker.
Messi’s nine-game World Cup scoring streak ended, but his pursuit of a second World Cup title continues. This is the first edition of the quadrennial tournament with the top four teams in the FIFA rankings reaching the semifinals; the order was Argentina first, Spain second, France third and England fourth entering the World Cup, and it’s currently France, Argentina, Spain, England.
“A match is coming up,” Paredes said, “that every kid dreams of playing.”
The game against Switzerland swung on a call sure to rile up those who think Argentina has been favored by World Cup officials.
The Swiss had just tied the game on Dan Ndoye’s goal in the 67th minute when Paredes was shown a yellow card for a tackle on Breel Embolo. However, video showed the Swiss player falling before the Argentina midfielder made contact with him, and because Embolo received a yellow card earlier in the match, he was ejected and Switzerland was left to complete the match with 10 players.
It was the second time a yellow card has been overturned using the “mistaken identity” protocol at the World Cup. The rule allows the video assistant referee to intervene when an incorrect player is shown a yellow or red card.
“We were punished because of a rule that in my opinion is completely unacceptable,” Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said. “I don’t understand. It’s very painful that we were eliminated that way. I don’t think we deserve that today, in my opinion.”
It was a maddening end to Switzerland’s first World Cup quarterfinal appearance since 1954. The Swiss still have never made a semifinal, nor have the Red Crosses beaten Argentina in eight meetings — three of those in the tournament that matters the most.
“It was just a disaster,” Switzerland defender Remo Freuler said of the red card.
Argentina has made its base for the past month in Kansas City, training at the home of Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City while winning over thousands of new fans. And on Saturday night, they filled Arrowhead Stadium for the second time this tournament, hoping to see Messi make more magic after his hat trick against Algeria a few weeks ago in the same venue, the home of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs.
It was brutally hot and humid throughout the day, but the temperatures began to fall with the setting sun, producing a picturesque setting for the 100th match of an expanded World Cup and the last one of the quarterfinal round.
The defensive-minded Swiss had conceded just three goals in five games, and they dominated control the ball in the opening minutes. But leave it to Messi, whose eight goals in the tournament are tied for the most with France’s Kylian Mbappé, to send a jolt through that heavily pro-Argentina crowd that included Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Messi helped to earn an early corner kick with some nifty footwork, then delivered the ball that Mac Allister turned into a 1-0 lead.
For most of the match, the Swiss struggled to break down an Argentina back line that had conceded two goals apiece in its past two games. And it didn’t help their cause that they were playing without Johan Manzabi, one of their best scorers, who remained out with a knee injury after missing their round-of-16 penalty shootout win over Colombia.
After forcing Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez into making a couple of tough second-half saves, though, the Swiss broke through when Ricardo Rodriguez slipped a tidy pass to Ndoye, and he easily found the back of the net.
Whatever momentum the equalizer gave Switzerland disappeared with Embolo’s red card a few minutes later.
Argentina turned up the pressure with Mac Allister missing wide with a header in the 89th minute, and Messi creating an opportunity in front of the goal that he sent just wide in the second minute of stoppage time, leaving the game tied into extra time.
There, just as they have all tournament, La Albiceleste found a way to keep their quest for back-to-back championships alive.
“We knew this could happen,” Argentina midfielder Thiago Almada said. “They have top players, very good position, they were trying to find people inside. We knew how to hold up, and we made it through.”