Argentina's national team qualified for the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup by defeating Switzerland 3-1 in a match held at Kansas City Stadium.
Argentina's goals were scored by Alexis Mac Allister, Julian Alvarez, and Lautaro Martinez, while Dan Ndoye scored Switzerland's only goal.
Argentina's national team reached the semi-finals for the second consecutive time, which happens for the first time since 1986 and 1990 when they won the first and lost the second back then.
Argentina's national team has not lost in the last 13 World Cup matches, with 11 wins and two draws.
Meanwhile, the match saw Switzerland fall behind in the score for the first time during the 2026 edition.
Argentina's national team will face England next Wednesday in the golden square at Atalanta Stadium at 10 p.m.
Breaking Speed's Curse
"Speed" is a famous content creator followed by more than 100 million followers on TikTok and YouTube platforms.
"Speed" is present at major matches where he shows his reaction to events live from the stands.
During the knockout stage of the World Cup, some news spread that the team supported by "Speed" loses.
And indeed, that is what happened with Ivory Coast against Norway, Portugal against Spain, and Brazil against Norway.
And because he is a fan of Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal's star, he does not support Argentina or Lionel Messi.
During Argentina's match against Cape Verde, he wore the latter's shirt and lost 3-2, and also wore Egypt's national team shirt and we lost 3-2 in a crazy scenario.
After the spread of the "Speed Curse" on social media, the content creator decided to appear in special shirts in the quarter-final matches.
Morocco against France, Spain against Belgium, and England against Norway, "Speed" appeared in a shirt split into two halves, each half bearing a national team's logo.
But during Argentina's match against Switzerland, "Speed" did not continue what he did in the other matches but wore the Tango shirt, and this time the curse was not broken; Argentina won and reached the World Cup semi-finals.
After the third goal, signs of frustration appeared on the content creator's face; who will he support in the semi-finals, England or Argentina?
🚨| BREAKING: SPEED LEAVES THE STADIUM AFTER LAUTARO MARTÍNEZ SCORES ARGENTINA'S THIRD GOAL IN THE FINAL MINUTES AGAINST SWITZERLAND 😭😭😭🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/9jZf1V2MyY@IShowSpeedHQ
Lineup
Lionel Scaloni made no changes to his starting lineup that began against Switzerland, so it was the same names that started the match against Egypt.
In contrast, Gabriel Su started in Switzerland's midfield instead of Ardon Jashari in a single change in Murat Yakin's squad.
AndMatch Summary
10 minutes were enough for the net to shake; a corner executed by Lionel Messi and a header by Alexis Mac Allister nestled into the net, announcing the lead with the first goal for the Tango.
Messi became the player with the most assists in World Cup history with 10 goals, and coincidentally the 10 decisive passes were scored by 10 different players.
Alexis Mac Allister gives Argentina the lead with a perfect header#WorldCup2026 pic.twitter.com/O3CZf9Bqnn@beINSPORTS
In the 20th minute, the first Swiss threat came with a powerful shot from Su that went into Emiliano Martinez's hands, who saved it firmly.
Brel Embolo almost equalized, but Argentina's goalkeeper came out at the right time and prevented Switzerland's striker from going one-on-one in the 31st minute.
The first half ended with Argentina leading by a single goal.
In the second half, Switzerland's players doubled their attacking efforts but collided with Martinez's brilliance.
But that brilliance stopped with Dan Ndoye's goal, who received a pass inside the penalty area and shot a ground ball to the left of the goalkeeper, equalizing in the 67th minute.
⚽🔥 Dan Ndoye equalizes for Switzerland and brings the match back to square one#WorldCup2026 pic.twitter.com/mkgpXp6y0h@beINSPORTS
After the goal, the referee showed a yellow card to Leandro Paredes after a challenge on Switzerland's Brel Embolo in the 69th minute.
But the referee's return to video technology turned events upside down.
Video technology asked the Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro to review the incident again in implementation of the "identifying the penalized player" rule, which appears for the first time in the 2026 edition.
After a minute of reviewing the footage, the referee returned to the field, canceled the yellow card for the Argentine, and gave it to Embolo for simulation.
And quickly followed by another yellow card from Pinheiro turning into a red because Embolo had received a first yellow card at the end of the first half.
🟥 Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro shows a red card to Switzerland's star Brel Embolo after receiving two yellow cards! He made the decision after resorting to video technology (72).#WorldCup2026 pic.twitter.com/JfiPScxWGJ@beINSPORTS
Switzerland's national team completed the match with 10 players amid Embolo's crying after his expulsion.
After the expulsion, Switzerland's players retreated, and in the 90+2 minute, Messi almost scored with his right foot with a shot from outside the penalty area, but his ball went just past the post.
Switzerland's goalkeeper Gregor Kobel excelled in saving a scissors kick from Lisandro Martinez in the 90+9 minute.
The match went to extra time, and substitute Thiago Almada tried twice in the 92nd and 95th minutes; the goalkeeper saved the first and the second went into the outer net.
The half also saw two yellow cards shown to both Thiago Almada and Lautaro Martinez in the same minute.
Despite Argentina's pressure, the score did not change and we moved to the second extra half.
In the 112th minute, Julian Alvarez ended everyone's silence with a powerful shot from outside the 18 to the left of the goalkeeper, announcing Argentina's lead with the second goal.
A wonderful shot from Julian Alvarez restores the lead to Argentina#WorldCup2026 pic.twitter.com/CsvUge4AG3@beINSPORTS
And in the first minute of stoppage time, Lautaro Martinez ended the match with the third goal by following up on an open chance from Flaco Lopez, which the goalkeeper saved.
🔥⚽ Lautaro Martinez seals the match with a third goal in Switzerland's net#WorldCup2026 pic.twitter.com/ZyUpHaW7tJ@beINSPORTS
Thus ending the match with a Tango victory and avoiding the "Speed Curse."
