Argentina defeated Switzerland 3-1 after extra time in their World Cup 2026 quarter-final match in Kansas City on July 11, 2026, securing a place in the semifinals [1, 2, 3, 4]. Lionel Messi assisted the opening goal by Alexis Mac Allister but did not score himself in the match [2, 5, 6, 4]. With eight goals so far in this tournament, Messi leads the Golden Boot race, tied with Kylian Mbappe [1, 2, 7, 8, 4]. He also became the all-time World Cup leading scorer with 21 goals across all tournaments [1, 7, 8, 4].
Argentina remain unbeaten in 11 World Cup matches spanning the 2022 and 2026 tournaments. They aim to become the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to win consecutive World Cups [1, 7, 8]. Switzerland, making their first quarter-final appearance in 72 years, earned respect from Argentina but were ultimately eliminated [2, 9, 3]. Swiss players Denis Zakaria and Zeki Amdouni acknowledged Messi’s impact while expressing belief in their ability to challenge Argentina [2]. Zakaria said, "It will be up to us to produce a very big performance if we want to beat them. Obviously, it's always difficult to stop a player like that, but I think we have the quality and we have the players to do it." Amdouni added, "We've studied them and we'll continue to do so today. I think there is space, and if we're here today, it's because we can hurt them too." [2]
Argentina will face England in the World Cup 2026 semifinal on July 15 at 20:00 BST in Atlanta [10, 5, 11, 6, 4]. This will be Messi’s first-ever match against England despite over 200 international appearances [10, 5, 6, 12]. England players like Nico O'Reilly and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford have expressed eagerness and caution ahead of facing Argentina and Messi. O'Reilly called it "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" and said, "For me personally, he's the best player to ever touch a football pitch. And yeah, I can't wait for the challenge." [11]
Messi described the victory over Switzerland as "a moment of pure happiness and relief. We wanted to stay in the tournament. We didn’t want today to be the end, we didn’t want to go home." He reflected on Argentina’s run by saying, "This group has got people used to doing things that aren't normal: it's not easy to come back from being world champions, winning everything we won, and then continue competing and remaining at that level, among the top four, playing in another semifinal ... It's not normal, that's why we have to enjoy it so much." [1, 4]
England and Argentina will meet in Atlanta on July 15 for a semifinal place in the final scheduled at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19 [11].
