Argentina end Swiss World Cup dream to set up England semi-final
Switzerland's bid to reach a first World Cup semi-final ended in extra-time defeat to Argentina, leaving England as Europe's sole remaining representative in the tournament's last four.
Argentina defeated 10-man Switzerland 3-1 after extra time in Kansas City to secure a place in the World Cup semi-finals.
The result ends a stubborn Swiss resistance and crushes the nation's hopes of reaching the tournament's last four for the first time. With Norway eliminated earlier on Saturday by England, Switzerland's departure leaves Thomas Tuchel's side as the continent's only hope against a succession of South American opposition.
Switzerland actually outpassed the world champions in the first half and had a good chance on the half hour when Emiliano Martinez denied Breel Embolo. They appeared capable of a shock result after Dan Ndoye equalised in the 67th minute, sweeping home a clever ball from Ricardo Rodriguez to cancel out Alexis Mac Allister's first-half header.
However, the momentum shifted drastically five minutes later when Embolo, who had been booked in the first half, received a second yellow card for simulation following a VAR review. Reduced to 10 men, Switzerland absorbed relentless Argentine pressure through the remainder of regulation time.
Julián Álvarez finally broke the deadlock in the 112th minute with a curling strike into the top corner, before Lautaro Martínez added a third in the dying seconds. Lionel Messi, who provided the assist for the opening goal, took his tally of World Cup assists across six tournaments to 10. He remains joint-top of the Golden Boot standings with eight goals, level with France's Kylian Mbappé.
Argentina's victory guarantees that the semi-finals will be contested exclusively by the top four teams in the FIFA rankings. The defending champions are now unbeaten in 12 World Cup matches and remain on course to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to retain the trophy.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni acknowledged the difficulty of the encounter. "We had to suffer a lot but we knew they were a physical team," he said. "We had many difficulties. Sometimes we couldn't find the solutions, but today we had luck on our side because one of their players was sent off."
