Argentina survived another grueling knockout game at the 2026 World Cup, outlasting an undermanned Switzerland side in extra time to walk away with a 3–1 victory in the quarterfinals.La Albiceleste nearly saw its title defense ended by Cabo Verde in the round of 32 and then again by Egypt in the round of 16. It was clear from the early stages on Saturday night Lionel Scaloni’s men had no desire to test fate for the third consecutive game. Alexis Mac Allister headed home a perfect delivery from Lionel Messi to get Argentina on the scoresheet inside of 10 minutes, and for the rest of the half, the South American outfit calmly protected its lead, looking in control every step of the way. Switzerland emerged as the more dangerous team after the restart and bagged what felt like an inevitable equalizer in the 67th minute through Dan Ndoye. Just when it looked like a thrilling conclusion was coming, Breel Embolo was controversially shown a second yellow card in the 72nd minute for simulation. Even though Switzerland held on until extra time, it couldn’t hold out for a penalty shootout. Julián Alvarez curled a brilliant strike into the top corner to give Argentina the lead in the 112th minute and Lautaro Martínez made sure there was no doubt with a goal of his own just before the final whistle to send Argentina to the World Cup semifinals, where England awaits.The One Thing We Can’t IgnoreBreel Embolo was controversially shown a second yellow card in the 72nd minute. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports IllustratedArgentina’s miraculous comebacks have dominated the conversation surrounding the reigning world champions this summer. The picture being painted is one of an exciting, somewhat chaotic team, whose victories feel inevitable, even if they require improbable heroics from Messi. And yes, the last-gasp wins are thrilling to watch, but they’ve swept the glaring problems with this Argentina side under the rug. La Albiceleste have now failed to keep a clean sheet in their last four matches. The center back pairing of Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martínez have been frequently caught out in transition, too easily picked apart with one threaded through ball or a sequence of quick passes. Nahuel Molina also provides little cover down the right flank, making Argentina’s backline all the more vulnerable—just take a look at Switzerland’s equalizer. Yet Argentina keep getting away with its defensive deficiencies because of late-game heroics or controversial refereeing decisions. Egypt manager Hossam Hassan declared his side “suffered an injustice” after La Albiceleste’s 3–2 comeback victory in the round of 16. The African nation saw a goal wiped away for a foul in the build-up, but then watched as the referee ignored its penalty shout at the start of the move that led to Enzo Fernández’s winner.One game later, Embolo was shown a controversial second yellow card for simulation to put Switzerland down a man just five minutes after it equalized. What happens when Argentina doesn’t have a favorable decision to bail out its inconsistent defense? The cracks are showing for the 2022 World Cup winners, and it seems only a matter of time before a stronger opponent has what it takes to gets the better of them and the referees. Argentina Player Ratings vs. Switzerland (4-1–2–1-2)Argentina scored its fastest goal of the tournament on Saturday. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated*Ratings Provided by FotMob*GK: Emiliano Martínez—7.6: Made a lunging challenge on Breel Embolo to stifle Switzerland’s best chance of the first half. Made some big saves in the second half to limit Switzerland’s damage. RB: Nahuel Molina—6.8: Targeted all night long and alarmingly beaten for pace nearly each time. It came as no surprise Switzerland’s equalizer came down his flank. CB: Cristian Romero—7.5: Marking no one on Switzerland’s equalizer. The one lapse soured an otherwise solid performance, but questions remain about his positioning in transition. CB: Lisandro Martínez—7.8: Bailed out by his goalkeeper after Embolo got the better of him in transition. Towed the line with his physicality but somehow escaped without even a caution. LB: Nicolás Tagliafico—6.9: Never a threat going forward, which partially explains Alvarez’s quiet performance. Did his job defensively, though, and won the battle against Djibril Sow. DM: Leandro Paredes—7.9: Relentlessly covered ground to pitch in defensively, but committed needless fouls that gave Switzerland dangerous set piece opportunities. At the center of Embolo’s controversial second yellow card. CM: Rodrigo De Paul—7.1: Smiled as he played the role of disrupter. Lost his hold on the game as the minutes ticked on, which let Switzerland dominate the second half before going down a man. CM: Alexis Mac Allister—8.3: Headed home his first goal of the tournament to get Argentina on the scoresheet. Constantly looking to make forward passes, though he carelessly coughed up possession on several occasions. AM: Enzo Fernández—7.0: Failed to show off his attacking prowess. Played a much more subdued role as he helped Argentina protect its lead for a large portion of the game. Created just one chance and didn’t take a single shot in 91 minutes on the pitch. ST: Lionel Messi—8.8: Snapped his goalscoring streak but he tallied an assist. Whipped in an inch-perfect delivery from the corner flag to set up Mac Allister’s opener. Always ready to strike on the counter attack when the moment called.ST: Julián Alvarez—8.3: Needed 112 minutes to make something happen, but make something happen he did. Curled home the biggest goal of the tournament for Argentina and arguably one of the best goals of his career. SUB: Nicolas González (78’ for Tagliafico)—6.6: Nearly perfect with the ball at his feet. Did his job with little fanfare. SUB: Lautaro Martínez (85’ for De Paul)—7.4: Sealed Argentina’s win at the death with his second goal of the tournament. SUB: Gonzalo Montiel (85’ for Molina)—6.0: A passenger while his side applied relentless pressure on Switzerland. SUB: Thiago Almada (91’ for Ferández)—7.3: Looked sharp as soon as he came on with some much-needed fresh legs. It was the rebound from his show which Lautaro ultimately fired home.SUB: Nicolás Otamendi (106’ for Romero)—6.5: Came on to win duels in the air and did just that. SUB: José Manuel López (110’ for Paredes)—6.9: Bagged the assist on Alvarez’s winner, though he didn’t know too much about it.Subs not used: Gerónimo Rulli (GK), Juan Musso (GK), Marcos Senesi, Facundo Medina, Exequiel Palacios, Giovani Lo Celso, Guiliano Simeone, Nico Paz, Valentín Barco.What the Ratings Tell UsLionel Messi now has 10 goal contributions to his name at the 2026 World Cup. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports IllustratedJulián Alvarez had another trying night in regulation. The forward, who did not have a goal to his name coming into the quarterfinals, struggled to find his footing on the world stage all tournament long. Despite his underwhelming summer and transfer drama looming over his head, the Argentine stepped up when it mattered most and curled home a spectacular winner to finally announce his arrival in North America. England forward Anthony Gordon is surely looking forward to going up against Nahuel Molina in the semifinals. The Argentine fullback is a liability in transition, lacking the pace and confidence to hang around with elite wingers. The speedy Gordon, who has three assists in his last three appearances, will give Molina his biggest test of the tournament. Lionel Messi might not have gotten on the scoresheet on Saturday, but he still left his mark in Argentina’s win. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner is just as capable of playing facilitator as goalscorer, and now has a staggering 10 goal contributions in this summer’s showpiece event. He remains level on goals with Kylian Mbappé in the Golden Boot race, but the Frenchman has the edge with one more assist. The Numbers That Explain Argentina’s Dramatic Win Lionel Scaloni led Argentina to another semifinal appearance. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports IllustratedArgentina showed once again it is unafraid to sit back and let teams have prolonged spells of possession. Scaloni’s side only enjoyed 59% of the ball while Switzerland had a surprising 41% possession. The defending world champions only created four big chances in 120 minutes. There was a concerning lack of creativity from Enzo Fernández and Alvarez—before the latter’s heroic goal in extra time.Switzerland did not manage a shot on target in extra time. It was penalties or bust for the visitors, and Argentina had the talent and extra man to ensure the game didn’t come to that. StatisticArgentinaSwitzerlandPossession59%41%xG2.000.53Total Shots2211Shots on Target75Big Chances41Pass Accuracy89%84%Fouls1418Corners82READ THE LATEST WORLD CUP NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FCAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow