By Razeen Gutta
Julian Alvarez produced a moment of magic as Argentina outlasted 10-man Switzerland 3-1 after extra-time on Saturday night to set up a fiery Fifa World Cup semi-final with England.
A crowd packed with Argentina fans in Kansas City saw Lionel Messi’s side open the scoring early. The all-time great’s corner found Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister, who glanced a header past Gregor Kobel for the opener inside 10 minutes.
Switzerland grew into the game and hit back on 67 minutes. Dan Ndoye finished smartly after a clever Ricardo Rodriguez ball, punishing Argentina’s drop in tempo.
The turning point came five minutes later. Breel Embolo, already booked, went down under minimal contact and was shown a second yellow after a VAR review. Reduced to 10, the Swiss dug deep and forced extra-time.
Argentina finally broke through in the 112th minute. Alvarez picked the ball up outside the box and curled a stunning strike into the top corner. Lautaro Martinez added a third late on to seal it.
Messi, who now has 10 World Cup assists across six tournaments, was quiet in front of goal but again pulled the strings. Argentina remain unbeaten in their last 12 World Cup matches as they chase back-to-back titles — a feat not achieved since Brazil in 1962.
Next up is England in Atlanta on Wednesday, a fixture loaded with history from Maradona’s “Hand of God” in 1986 to penalty drama in 1998.
Pictured above: Argentina
Source: @fifaworldcup
