KANSAS CITY — Argentina advanced to the World Cup semifinals with a 3-1 extra-time victory over Switzerland after Julián Álvarez delivered a 112th-minute winner, according to the match report. The 26-year-old, who had been scoreless in the tournament until that point, curled a 24-meter shot past goalkeeper Gregor Kobel to give the defending champions the lead.
Argentina had led for nearly 60 minutes following Alexis Mac Allister’s header from a corner, the team’s fifth set-piece goal of the tournament. Switzerland answered in the 67th minute when Dan Ndoye finished from a tight angle to level the match, and the Europeans had controlled much of the game up to that point, according to the report.
The match turned in Argentina’s favor shortly after when Breel Embolo was sent off in the 72nd minute for simulation. Referee Joao Pedro Silva Pinheiro initially booked Leandro Paredes for a foul, but a VAR review determined Embolo had gone down without contact and had already been shown a yellow earlier for a rough challenge, resulting in a second yellow and dismissal.
From the 72nd minute on, Argentina dominated. The team attempted 17 shots to Switzerland’s two and posted 1.61 expected goals to Switzerland’s 0.03 over the final 47 minutes of regulation and extra time. After Álvarez’s go-ahead strike, Lautaro Martínez sealed the victory with a breakaway goal, according to the match report.
Lionel Messi was held quiet for much of the night but still contributed an assist on Mac Allister’s goal and finished with six chances created and four long-range shots, the report says. He was limited to one shot in regular time and three overall, snapping a recent scoring run; before the match Messi had a goal in nine consecutive World Cup games and had become the first player to score in six straight knockout matches.
Argentina will face England in the semifinals in Atlanta on Wednesday. The win continued a pattern of narrow escapes for the reigning champions, who needed extra time to advance past Cape Verde and a stoppage-time winner from Enzo Fernández to overcome Egypt earlier in the tournament, according to the match report.
