It seemed like it might be the end of the road for Lionel Messi at the World Cup in the 78th minute of Argentina’s round-of-16 tie against Egypt.Instead, a remarkable comeback from two goals down saw the world champions win 3-2 and keep their title defence alive, leaving Messi in floods of tears. They may not have expected to face Switzerland in the quarter-finals, a side who ground out a goalless draw with Colombia before stunning them on penalties.So, who do our writers think will come out on top in the 100th game of this summer’s tournament? Is it just a matter of time before we see Messi lift the trophy again in New Jersey on July 19, or could a well-drilled Swiss side put a spanner in the works?What is the key information I need to know?World Rankings: Argentina (FIFA ranking 2), Switzerland (14)
Venue: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Date: Saturday, July 11
Kick-off: 6pm PT / 8pm CT (local time) / 9pm ET / 2am BST (Sunday, July 12)How did Argentina reach the quarter-finals?Thanks to Messi, mainly. The 39-year-old scored Argentina’s first five goals of the tournament in wins against Algeria (3-0) and Austria (2-0). They did score twice without him in their final Group J match against Jordan, but he came off the bench to score the final goal in a 3-1 win that saw them qualify top.Their round-of-32 tie against Cape Verde will go down as an all-time classic, going behind twice but fighting back to win 3-2 in extra time against the World Cup debutants, ranked 63 places below them. They were given even more of a scare in the round of 16 against Egypt, but a spirited 13 minutes saw them turn the tie around, winning 3-2, with Messi grabbing a goal and an assist.How did Switzerland reach the quarter-finals?Switzerland’s path has not been as eye-catching, but has been equally effective.They kicked things off with a 1-1 draw with Qatar, failing to win despite taking 26 shots. The goals came in their final two Group B games, beating Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-1 and co-hosts Canada 2-1 to progress in top spot.A routine round-of-32 tie against Algeria followed, winning 2-0 to set up a last-16 match against Group K winners Colombia. Nothing memorable occurred until the penalty shootout that came after the 0-0 draw, where Switzerland prevailed 4-3, despite Inter defender Manuel Akanji sending his effort sailing over the crossbar.How to watch on TVUnited States: Fox Sports (English), Telemundo / Peacock (Spanish)Canada: TSN / RDSMexico: TelevisaUnivision / TV AztecaUnited Kingdom: ITV1 / ITVXWhat should we expect from Argentina?Tears. The two Lionels, Scaloni and Messi, being capable of containing their emotions and looking calm until the final whistle, then letting it all out. Argentina don’t do straightforward. They are the opposite of emotionless. Games that look like bland prose on paper become works of epic poetry.In Miami, Argentina kept taking the lead against Cape Verde but only sank the newcomers with an own goal in extra time. In Atlanta, it was 3-2 again, just with more drama. This time, Argentina kept going behind. They were 2-0 down against Egypt with around 10 minutes left of normal time. It required a historic remontada. When Enzo Fernandez completed arguably the most famous comeback in World Cup history, Scaloni and Messi burst into tears.On the one hand, performances like these do not inspire confidence. It should not be this difficult.Four years ago, Scaloni was able to introduce freshness from the bench and radically change Argentina’s fortunes. Players such as Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez went from playing on the margins to taking a leading role in Argentina’s first World Cup triumph since 1986. This time around, Scaloni hasn’t been able to transform the team mid-tournament. Argentina have, as a consequence, looked stale and pedestrian.All of this, however, fails to take into account the intangibles that continue to make Argentina formidable. Leaving aside Messi’s genius, this group of players have been together for years. They have mostly won together. They retained the Copa America in 2024. It means Argentina never know they’re beaten. Belief is unfaltering, even in adversity. If at any point the Swiss think they have got Argentina where they want them, that’s when they need to be at their most wary.Let’s see what Scaloni does with the team in Kansas City. Lautaro Martinez’s assist for Fernandez’s winner against Egypt perhaps puts him in contention to start given how disappointing Alvarez has been. It would be a reversal of what happened in Qatar in 2022.James HorncastleWhat should we expect from Switzerland?Switzerland’s run to the quarter-finals has not been built on flair or panache. They have touches of both in their squad — especially from wide forward Johan Manzambi — but their style of play is based on a rigid defensive structure in which few risks are taken and positional discipline is essential. The one thing you don’t get against Switzerland is big gaps to work with.Against Colombia in the last 16, they gave away very few chances and Murat Yakin’s side were impressive at scrambling to cover and shore things up on the occasions when Colombia looked as if they had split the Swiss open. But Colombia were reluctant to push their full-backs forward. They clearly sensed a threat from Switzerland out wide, even though Manzambi wasn’t fit to play.Manzambi has now been ruled out of this game against Argentina, but, in many ways, the key player in the entire machine is the captain, Granit Xhaka. The Sunderland man sits at the very centre of midfield, pulling the strings with his short-range passing and, more importantly, organising the structure around him. He’s a talker, he’s a natural leader and, with Xhaka in position, the rest of the players appear to know exactly where they should be.Yakin has been with this team for five years now. There’s a strong level of understanding between coach and squad, and they absolutely know the type of side they’re supposed to be. They topped their group, they’ve conceded three times in the entire tournament, so it would be completely wrong to say they’ve made the last eight through luck or chance.They’re simply the least dangerous attacking side left in the tournament — so to upset Argentina, they’ll likely need a repeat of the story against Colombia: solid through 90 minutes, solid through extra time and then clinical in a penalty shootout. It’s a big ask, but it’s not out of the question.Phil HayWho is the star player for each team?A tricky one here, but for Argentina I am probably going to go with the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, leading scorer at this World Cup and top scorer in the competition’s history. Any answer other than Messi is quite simply invalid.For Switzerland, he may not be a candidate for the title of football’s greatest ever player, but Xhaka is the assured presence at the heart of midfield who makes them tick. According to FIFA data, the 33-year-old has covered the sixth-highest distance at this World Cup, still possessing the physicality, game intelligence and technical nous to dictate their tempo.Conor O’NeillIs there any history in this match-up?The last meeting between these sides was a 1-0 round-of-16 victory for Argentina at the 2014 World Cup, a game featuring both current captains: Messi and Xhaka. And, despite the result back then, do not be surprised to see the Swiss adopt a similar game plan this time around.Facing a superior Argentina side, they set out to frustrate, and very nearly succeeded. They held firm until extra time, only to concede a gut-wrenching Angel Di Maria goal in the 118th minute. “We suffered and suffered, all of us,” said Messi after full-time.Switzerland had the clearer chances, including a tame Xhaka effort from inside the box, and they almost equalised at the death when Blerim Dzemaili hit the post.Ominously, the game was still settled by a moment of Messi magic. Picking up the ball in midfield, he skipped through challenges on a weaving run before sliding a perfectly weighted pass into Di Maria, who guided home the winner.Switzerland will be desperate not to see history repeat itself on Saturday, but as their 2014 encounter showed, even the best-laid plans can only do so much when Messi is in the mood.Conor O’NeillWhere will the game be won and lost?It has served them well, by the skin of their teeth at times, but Argentina’s reliance on Messi makes their tactical approach predictable. Scaloni’s side funnel possession through the middle 34 per cent of the time, a higher share than any other team at the tournament, with much of their attacking play geared towards finding Messi between the lines.Until that breathtaking final 15 minutes, Egypt largely nullified this strategy by packing the centre themselves and smothering those central spaces. Switzerland are a stronger defensive side than Egypt, conceding just three shots on target in 120 minutes against Colombia, a game that showed their ability to make things compact, congested and difficult out of possession. Argentina will need to vary their attacking patterns and have Messi’s supporting cast contribute if they are to enjoy a smoother ride here.Scaloni’s team also looked vulnerable on the counter-attack, with Egypt carving through them for their controversially disallowed goal and their legitimate second. Switzerland have quick, direct runners in Dan Ndoye, Breel Embolo and Ruben Vargas, all capable of hurting Argentina if they are as sluggish as they were in Atlanta again.Switzerland could do with sharpening their set-piece routines. They are the only quarter-finalists yet to score via that route, and in a game where they are likely to spend long spells on the back foot, a well-worked dead ball may be their best route towards nicking a goal.Staff predictionsConor O’Neill: Argentina 1-0 Switzerland. I expect Switzerland to adopt a similar approach to their game against Colombia: stay in a solid shape, avoid overcommitting and look to grab a goal on the break. Against a shaky-looking Argentina, it could well work, but with breakout star and top-scorer Manzambi still out injured, I don’t see them packing enough of an attacking punch.Phil Hay: Argentina 2-0 Switzerland. This will probably be another demanding game for Argentina, and one reason why I no longer expect them to retain the World Cup is because, to use boxing parlance, they’re having far too many hard fights at these finals. But my expectation is they’ll score first against Switzerland, the Swiss will be forced to chase the game, and someone like Messi will pick them off for a second time. I don’t see a shock coming.James Horncastle: Argentina 2-2 Switzerland (Argentina win on penalties). I am of the opinion that Switzerland are sneakily good. They’re better than the other teams Argentina have struggled to eliminate. The team have been together for a long time. Xhaka and Remo Freuler are a tigerish midfield. I suspect this will go to penalties and Argentina will need Emiliano Martinez to repeat his heroics from four years ago in Qatar.Anantaajith Raghuraman: Argentina 2-1 Switzerland (after extra time). Argentina have been shaky in the knockout rounds, while Switzerland have been defensively solid. This will be a tight game but Messi might just prove the difference again to see Argentina through. But not before the Swiss, even without Manzambi, drag them to an extra 30 minutes as they did in the 2014 round-of-16.Max Mathews: Switzerland 3-2 Argentina (after extra time). Betting against Messi might seem like madness given his otherworldly form at this World Cup. But Argentina are not the 2022 champions. They are defensively vulnerable, dependent on a 39-year-old and have scraped past heavy underdogs thanks to large slices of luck and questionable refereeing decisions in successive matches.Predicted line-upsTell me one thing about Argentina that’s going to make me look clever to my friendsNo team has scored more left-footed goals at this World Cup than Argentina, with nine, while no quarter-finalist has scored fewer right-footed ones than their two. Oh, incidentally, did you know that Messi is left-footed?Tell me one thing about Switzerland that’s going to make me look clever to my friendsSwitzerland are facing the only squad left with more international experience than them, with Argentina’s 1,251 combined caps just ahead of their 1,132. Both sides also have 17 of their 26 players from the 2022 World Cup, the joint-highest share at the tournament.Who is the referee?Portuguese official João Pinheiro will referee his third match at this summer’s World Cup when Argentina and Switzerland meet in Kansas City. It is his second appointment for a fixture involving Switzerland.Pinheiro, officiating at his first World Cup, showed a straight red card to Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic in their 4-1 group-stage defeat by Switzerland, after he brought down Embolo in a denial of a clear goalscoring opportunity.Pinheiro was at the centre of big protests from Canada’s squad during their round-of-32 victory against South Africa after he waved away their penalty shouts following a challenge on Richie Laryea shortly before the break. VAR upheld his decision not to give a spot kick.The 38-year-old also refereed the UEFA Super Cup final between Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain last year.Who will the winners play next?The winners will progress to the semi-finals, facing either Norway or England at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 15, kick off 12pm PT / 3pm ET (local time)/8pm BST. The match between Norway and England takes place four hours before this game at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami.Essential reading before the game
