Julian Alvarez sent defending champion Argentina to the FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinals with a long-range strike in the 112th minute against Switzerland, while another goal by Lautaro Martinez with seconds left in extra time only served to make the 3-1 victory look a whole lot easier than it was on Saturday (July 12, 2026) night.

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Alexis Mac Allister also scored off a corner kick from Lionel Messi, helping La Albiceleste gut out another down-to-the-wire thriller and advance to play England on Wednesday (July 15, 2026) in Atlanta. The Three Lions beat Norway 2-1 earlier in the day.

Messi’s nine-game World Cup scoring streak ended, but his pursuit of a second World Cup title continues. With Argentina and England joining France and Spain in the semifinals, it’s the first time the top four teams in the FIFA rankings have all advanced that far.

The game swung in the second half on a call sure to rile up critics who believe Argentina has been favored by officials in this tournament.

The Swiss had just tied the game on Dan Ndoye’s goal in the 67th minute when Leandro Paredes was shown a yellow card for a tackle on Breel Embolo. But video showed the Swiss player falling before the Argentina midfielder made contact with him, and since Embolo received a yellow card earlier in the match, he was sent off and Switzerland was left to defend with 10 players.

It was the second time a yellow card has been overturned using the “mistaken identity” protocol at the World Cup. The rule allows the video assistant referee to intervene when an incorrect player is shown a yellow or red card.

Argentina, who are riding a 12-match World Cup unbeaten streak, had looked quite beatable in the knockout rounds. Lionel Scaloni’s squad needed extra time to squeak past tiny Cape Verde before rallying from a 2-0 deficit in the final 11 minutes of regulation to beat Egypt and earn a date with Switzerland at the home of the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Swiss, meanwhile, were playing their first World Cup quarterfinal since 1954. They still have never made a semifinal, nor have they beaten Argentina in eight meetings — three of those in the tournament that matters the most.

Argentina has made its base for the past month in Kansas City, training at the home of MLS club Sporting Kansas City while winning over thousands of new fans. And on Saturday (July 11, 2026) night, they filled Arrowhead Stadium for the second time this tournament, hoping to see Messi make more magic after his hat trick against Algeria in the same building a few weeks ago.

It was brutally hot and humid throughout the day, but the temperatures began to fall with the setting sun, producing a picturesque setting for the 100th match of an expanded World Cup, and the final match of the quarterfinal round.

The defensive-minded Swiss had only conceded three goals in five games, and they dominated the ball in the opening minutes. But leave it to Messi, whose eight goals in the tournament are tied for the most with France’s Kylian Mbappé, to send a jolt through a heavily pro-Argentina crowd that included Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

He helped to earn an early corner kick with some nifty footwork, then delivered the ball that Mac Allister turned into a 1-0 lead.

For most of the match, the Swiss struggled to break down an Argentina back line that had conceded two goals apiece in its last two games. And it didn’t help their cause that they were playing without Johan Manzabi, one of their best goal-scorers, who remained out with a knee injury after missing their round of 16 penalty shootout win over Colombia.

But after forcing Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez into making a couple of tough second-half saves, the Swiss broke through when Ricardo Rodriguez slipped a tidy pass to Ndoye and he easily found the back of the net.

Whatever momentum the equalizer gave the Swiss disappeared with Embolo’s red card a few minutes later.

Argentina turned up the pressure with Mac Allister missing wide with a header in the 89th minute, and Messi creating an opportunity in front of the goal that he sent just wide in the second minute of stoppage time, leaving the game tied into extra time.

Just as they have all tournament, La Albiceleste found a way to keep their quest for back-to-back championships alive.

The United States’ World Cup dreams came to a crashing halt in the last 16 against Belgium on ​Monday (July 6, 2026) as Charles De Ketelaere scored twice in a 4-1 win overshadowed by FIFA’s ‌controversial decision to suspend U.S. forward Folarin Balogun’s ban.

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De Ketelaere gave ​Belgium the lead in the ninth minute with a simple ⁠tap-in, taking full advantage of a nervous start by the U.S. to quickly deflate the partisan crowd.

Malik Tillman equalised in the 31st minute with a deflected free kick which ‌wrong-footed Thibaut Courtois, but De Ketelaere restored Belgium’s lead little more than a minute later with a back-post header.

The U.S. played ‌with more authority after the break until a calamitous error from goalkeeper ‌Matt ⁠Freese allowed substitute Hans Vanaken to score in the 57th ⁠minute, irreversibly shifting the momentum in a stunned Seattle Stadium.

Romelu Lukaku then added a fourth in added time to send U.S. fans streaming for the exits and Belgium into the quarter-finals ​for the third time in the ‌last four World Cups. They will play European champions Spain in Los Angeles on Friday.

BALOGUN LACKS IMPACT FOR U.S.

The build-up was dominated by U.S. President Donald Trump’s unprecedented intervention before Balogun’s one-match ban for a red ‌card against Bosnia and Herzegovina was suspended, but the 25-year-old could barely ​get into the game.

The U.S. struggled with Belgium’s intensity from the start and, with the crowd still going through their ⁠first chant of “U-S-A!”, Timothy Castagne forced Freese into a fingertip save.

Belgium should have been ahead after a brilliant run from Dodi Lukebakio — impressive in place of Jeremy ‌Doku — produced a great chance for Youri Tielemans, who totally missed his shot.

The co-hosts did not learn their lesson, though, and a minute later De Ketelaere tapped home Nicolas Raskin’s cross after the U.S. failed to clear their lines.

The U.S. looked stunned and were grateful for the hydration break, levelling shortly after the resumption when Balogun won a free kick in a dangerous ‌position.

Tillman’s effort took a wicked deflection off the forehead of Vanaken, an early substitute for ​the injured Amadou Onana, which gave Courtois no chance.

But the U.S. swiftly conceded another cheap goal, with Leandro Trossard standing up ⁠a simple cross for De Ketelaere to outmuscle Tim Ream and head home.

The U.S. ⁠looked more composed after the break, but any hopes of a comeback were shattered when Freese dawdled on the ball out of ‌his goal and gave Vanaken a shot at an open goal.

And the game had long since petered out when Lukaku bagged his seventh career ​World Cup goal and 93rd for Belgium with a cool finish.

Lionel Messi scored on a free kick as a second-half substitute, and Argentina delivered a 3-1 World ​Cup victory over Jordan in the Group J finale ‌for each side Saturday (June 27, 2026) at Arlington, Texas.

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Giovani Lo ​Celso and Lautaro Martinez each scored goals ⁠in the first half for Argentina (3-0-0, 9 points), who were one of three teams to finish with a perfect record in ‌group stages along with France in Group I and co-host Mexico in Group A.

Emiliano Martinez ‌did not make a save for Argentina ‌as ⁠one of just two returning starters from a ⁠2-0 victory over Austria on Monday. The side outscored their Group J opponents 8-1.

Argentina will face Cape Verde in the round of ​32 on Friday (July 4, 2026) ‌at Miami Gardens, while Jordan (0-3-0, 0 points) were eliminated. Jordan were outscored 8-3 in their first World Cup.

Messi came on as a substitute in the 60th ‌minute for Lautaro Martinez and scored on a ​free kick through the Jordan defensive wall in the 80th minute for a 3-1 advantage. ⁠The goal made him the first player to score in seven straight World Cup matches while extending his ‌World Cup record to 19 total goals.

Mousa Al-Tamari scored a goal and Yazeed Abulaila made one save for Jordan.

Lo Celso gave Argentina a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute when he fired a bending left-footed free kick from the top of the penalty ‌area. Lautaro Martinez made it 2-0 in the 31st minute when ​he scored from the penalty spot after Julian Alvarez was fouled.

Al-Tamari scored for Jordan in ⁠the 55th minute off a cross from Ehsan Haddad, cutting ⁠the deficit to 2-1. It was the first goal Argentina has allowed in the tournament.

Messi, ‌who turned 39 on Wednesday (June 24, 2026), nearly scored again on another free kick from a sharp angle to ​the right of goal in the first minute of second-half stoppage time.