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World Cup: Messi, Argentina leave it late against ten-man Switzerland

In Kansas City, Argentina again needed extra time to advance, beating ten-man Switzerland 3-1 after extra time.
E. DEVIN
Published on 07/12/2026 at 04:30
2-minute read
Former Paris Saint-Germain teammates Lionel Messi and Leandro Paredes helped Argentina edge Switzerland in a tightly-fought contest

In Kansas City, Argentina again needed extra time to advance, beating ten-man Switzerland 3-1 after extra time. Get the latest with Ligue 1 McDonald's team.

An early strike for Argentina

At Arrowhead Stadium, Olymique Lyonnais left back Nicolás Tagliafico was back in the eleven for Argentina, while former Ligue 1 McDonald's stars Leandro Paredes and Lionel Messi also started. For La Nati, Breel Embolo (Stade Rennais) and Denis Zakaria (AS Monaco) also were in the lineup, as was former OGC Nice winger Dan Ndoye and former Rennes midfielder Fabian Rieder.

It didn't take long for the holders to get to grips with the match, though, as Messi found Alexis MacAllister with a corner on ten minutes, and the midfielder duly took advantage of some slck marking on the Swiss' part to head his side in front. The Swiss would have their chances on the counter, notably through Embolo on 32 minutes, but Lionel Scaloni's side would reach the interval with their 1-0 lead intact. 

A goal and a turning point for the swiss

Into the second half, the Swiss were on the ascendancy, with Ndoye in particular looking dangerous, first having a fine chance taken off his feet by Lisandro MartĂ­nez on 50 minutes before a header forced a sharp save from Emi MartĂ­nez and then finally leveling the match on 67 minutes with a clever finish across the face of goal.

The match would then turn four minutes later as Embolo, already on a yellow card, was sent off for simulation. Argentina were unable to break La Nati's resistance in normal time, but come the extra half hour, an unbelievable finish from Julian Alvarez (112') put them ahead before Lautaro MartĂ­nez sealed the result in added time, making it 3-1 on the evening. With the win, Argentina will take on England, a winner earlier in the day against Norway, on Wednesday in Atlanta, with the Albiceleste aiming to reach their third final in the last four tournaments. 

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