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Argentina and Switzerland will face each other this Saturday, July 11, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, in the last . The winner will secure a direct ticket to the semifinals and will clash with the victor of the match between Norway and England.
The Albiceleste arrives as the defending champion, but the journey to get here was not easy. In the round of sixteen, La Scaloneta needed extra time to overcome Cape Verde 3-2.
In the round of 16, Lionel Scaloni's team achieved one of the most dramatic comebacks of the tournament: they were down 2-0 against Egypt and scored three goals in the last 11 minutes with goals from Cristian Romero, Messi, and Enzo Fernández to win 3-2.
The group stage had been much more comfortable: a 3-0 thrashing of Algeria with a hat trick from Lionel Messi, a 2-0 victory against Austria with two goals from the captain, and a final match ending in a 3-1 win over Jordan.
At 39 years old, Messi remains the focal point of everything. The captain has accumulated eight goals in the tournament and shares the top spot on the scoring chart with Frenchman Kylian Mbappé. Furthermore, with his goals in this World Cup, he reached a historic total of 21 goals in World Cup tournaments, solidifying his status as the highest male scorer in the history of the competition, surpassing the 16 goals of German Miroslav Klose.
The main uncertainty in the Argentine lineup revolves around the defense: Facundo Medina is dealing with an injury sustained against Egypt, and if he doesn't recover in time, Nicolás Tagliafico would take his place at left back. In attack, the question is whether Lautaro Martínez or Julián Álvarez will join Messi from the start, following the impressive performance of the latter in the round of 16.
In contrast, Switzerland arrives with a radically different proposal: tactical order, collective discipline, and a defense that conceded only three goals in five matches, all during the group stage. The team led by Murat Yakin kept a clean sheet in the round of 32—with a 2-0 victory over Algeria—and in the round of 16, where they resisted for 120 minutes against Colombia and advanced 4-3 in the penalty shootout.
Gregor Kobel, goalkeeper of Borussia Dortmund, was a key figure against Colombia and has become one of the prominent names of the tournament for the Swiss team.
Switzerland's major concern is Johan Manzambi: the 20-year-old midfielder, with three goals and two assists in the tournament, is dealing with a knee injury sustained during training and his participation is uncertain. If he is unable to play, Fabian Rieder would take on a more offensive role. Michel Aebischer and Luca Jaquez are also dealing with discomfort.
The history between both teams heavily favors Argentina: five victories and two draws in seven encounters, with no defeats. They met twice in World Cups: in England 1966 (2-0 in the group stage) and in Brazil 2014, when Ángel Di María scored in the 117th minute of extra time to qualify Argentina 1-0 in the Round of 16.
This Saturday, more than a decade after that goal in São Paulo, Argentina and Switzerland meet again in a World Cup with an even greater prize at stake: a spot in the semifinals of the 2026 World Cup.
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