{"id":796503,"date":"2026-07-12T05:48:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T05:48:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/796503\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T05:48:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T05:48:32","slug":"argentina-3-1-switzerland-aet-stats-alvarez-and-martinezs-extra-time-goals-tee-up-england-semi-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/796503\/","title":{"rendered":"Argentina 3-1 Switzerland (aet) Stats: Alvarez and Mart\u00ednez’s Extra-Time Goals Tee up England Semi-Final"},"content":{"rendered":"

Argentina<\/a> booked their spot in the semi-finals of the World Cup after getting the better of Switzerland<\/a>, who had Breel Embolo sent off.<\/p>\n

Argentina will play England for a spot in the World Cup final after\u00a0Juli\u00e1n Alvarez<\/a> and\u00a0Lautaro Mart\u00ednez<\/a>\u2018s extra-time goals earned a 3-1 win over 10-man Switzerland.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alexis Mac Allister<\/a> had given Argentina an early lead before\u00a0Dan Ndoye<\/a> hauled his team level just before the hour, only for Switzerland to see Breel Embolo<\/a> sent off for simulation.<\/p>\n

Switzerland defended stoutly to force extra-time, and just when penalties were looming, Alvarez and Mart\u00ednez struck twice in nine minutes to send Argentina into the semi-finals.<\/p>\n

\"Argentina<\/p>\n

Having flicked a headed effort just wide moments earlier,\u00a0Mac Allister put\u00a0Argentina in front in the\u00a010th minute when he glanced Lionel Messi<\/a>\u2018s teasing corner from the left-hand side past\u00a0Gregor Kobel<\/a> and into the bottom-right corner.<\/p>\n

It was the first time Switzerland had gone behind in this World Cup cycle, including both qualifiers and at the tournament, and they quickly tried to get themselves level, but\u00a0Djibril Sow<\/a> saw his shot from distance gathered by\u00a0Emiliano Mart\u00ednez<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Switzerland began the second half brightly but were unable to find a way past Mart\u00ednez, with\u00a0Embolo and\u00a0Ndoye seeing their headed attempts pushed to safety before\u00a0Granit Xhaka<\/a>\u2018s left-footed drive was collected at the second attempt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But Switzerland\u2019s persistence prevailed in the 67th minute when Ndoye combined with\u00a0Ricardo Rodr\u00edguez<\/a> down the left and placed the ball under the legs of Mart\u00ednez, though their joy quickly turned to despair five minutes later.<\/p>\n

Having already been booked in the first half for a foul on\u00a0Leandro Paredes<\/a> just before the break, Embolo was sent off for simulation after diving under the challenge from the same Argentine midfielder, with the decision given after a VAR review.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mac Allister came close to heading in a late winner in normal time but could not hit the target after good work from\u00a0Nico Gonz\u00e1lez<\/a> before Messi worked the ball onto his right foot and bent an attempt narrowly wide, with extra-time needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both sides struggled to test either goalkeeper until Messi\u2019s shot was parried by Kobel, with the play kept alive and leading to the winning goal.\u00a0Gonz\u00e1lez picked out Jose Manuel Lopez, who laid the ball off for Alvarez to\u00a0bend\u00a0a sumptuous effort into the net.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, Argentina were not done there. In Switzerland\u2019s desperate attempt for an equaliser, Xhaka was dispossessed by Alvarez, but Thiago Almada<\/a> was denied by Kobel, only for the rebound to fall kindly for Mart\u00ednez to seal another dramatic victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lionel Scaloni\u2019s side will now face England<\/a>, who also needed extra-time to beat Norway, on July 15.<\/p>\n

Alvarez Lands Another Knockout Blow as Embolo\u2019s Red Card Proves Costly<\/p>\n

Having netted in nine consecutive games at the World Cup, Messi\u2019s scoring run came to an end here, but he still made an impact. He has now recorded 10\u00a0World Cup assists, two more than any other player since 1966 (Diego Maradona has eight).<\/p>\n

Mac Allister\u2019s 10th-minute goal is the earliest Argentina has scored in a World Cup match since Gonzalo Higua\u00edn\u2019s eighth-minute strike\u00a0against Belgium in the 2014 quarter-final, though Switzerland responded brightly through Ndoye.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, the tables were turned when Embolo was dismissed for an avoidable second booking. He\u00a0is the fourth player since 1966 to receive a second yellow card for simulation and the first since 2006 (Asamoah Gyan for Ghana vs. Brazil), and it proved costly for his team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And though they could not get the job done in 90 minutes, Argentina would have been confident of getting themselves over the line. This was their 13th match to go to extra-time at the World Cup, more than any other team, and Alvarez\u2019s late heroics improved their record in such matches to 11 victories.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alvarez chose the right time to score his first World Cup goal since he netted a brace in the semi-finals of the 2022 tournament in Qatar, too.\u00a0Four of the in-demand Atl\u00e9tico Madrid forward\u2019s five goals in the competition have now been scored in the knockout rounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Switzerland, it was a familiar fate against Argentina, too. The last time they squared off at the World Cup was in the 2014 round of 16, with Argentina also winning 1-0 after extra-time thanks to \u00c1ngel Di Mar\u00eda\u2019s goal in the 118th minute.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Argentina vs Switzerland stats from their 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-final meeting in Miami on 11 July.<\/p>\n

The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.<\/p>\n

Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Argentina vs Switzerland: Post-Match Opta Facts<\/p>\n

This is only the third time all four semi-finalists in a FIFA World Cup are former winners of the competition (1970, 1990).<\/p>\n

Argentina have reached the last four of the FIFA World Cup for the third time in the last four editions (2014, 2022, 2026). Prior to 2014, they hadn\u2019t reached the semi-final since 1990.<\/p>\n

This was Argentina\u2019s record 13th extra-time match in the FIFA World Cup. They have emerged as winners (including penalty shoot-out wins) in 11 of those.<\/p>\n

Switzerland have been eliminated in all four of their quarter-final appearances at the FIFA World Cup (1934, 1938, 1954, 2026).<\/p>\n

Juli\u00e1n Alvarez\u2019s goal in the 112th minute was the second-latest goal Switzerland have conceded at the FIFA World Cup after a 118th-minute goal by \u00c1ngel Di Mar\u00eda in Argentina\u2019s 1-0 extra-time win in the 2014 round of 16.<\/p>\n

Lionel Messi has recorded 10 goal contributions in this FIFA World Cup, the second time he\u2019s recorded 10 goal contributions in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup (2022), one of two players to do so multiple times since 1966 (Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 \u2013 2022, 2026).<\/p>\n

Lionel Messi\u2019s assist on Alexis Mac Allister\u2019s opening goal was his 10th FIFA World Cup assist, two more than any other player since 1966 (Diego Maradona \u2013 8). Messi\u2019s 10 World Cup assists have set up goals for 10 different players.<\/p>\n

Lionel Scaloni is unbeaten in 10 all-time matches against UEFA opposition as manager of Argentina (W7 D3).<\/p>\n

Four of Juli\u00e1n Alvarez\u2019s five career FIFA World Cup goals have been scored in the knockout rounds, tied with Diego Maradona for the second-most by an Argentinian player behind only Lionel Messi (7).<\/p>\n

Dan Ndoye is the fourth Switzerland player to score multiple goals at this year\u2019s FIFA World Cup, joining Johan Manzambi, Breel Embolo and Rub\u00e9n Vargas. Prior to 2026, the only World Cup in which multiple Swiss players scored 2+ goals was 1954 (Josef H\u00fcgi, Robert Ballamann).<\/p>\n

Breel Embolo is the fourth player on record to receive a second yellow card for simulation in the FIFA World Cup and the first since Asamoah Gyan for Ghana against Brazil in 2006.<\/p>\n

\"FIFA<\/a><\/p>\n

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