Argentina reached the World Cup semifinals by beating Switzerland 3-1 on Sunday morning. Although he did not score in the match, Argentina captain Lionel Messi continued to set records. And by scoring Argentina’s second goal in extra time, Julian Alvarez drew level with the legendary Diego Maradona.
Argentina have reached the semifinals in three of the last four World Cups (2014, 2022, 2026). From the 1994 World Cup to the 2010 World Cup, they failed to reach the last four.
At this World Cup, Messi has played 20 passes from which teammates were able to take a shot on goal. He is the first player since 1966 to play 20 or more such passes in three different World Cups (21 in 2022 and 24 in 2014).
Argentina have scored three or more goals in four consecutive matches at this World Cup, a record for consecutive matches in World Cup history. With three goals from corners at this World Cup, Argentina have matched the record of England and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the joint highest for all three teams.
Interestingly, Argentina rank third from the bottom for average height at this tournament, yet have scored the most headed goals (three) of any of the 45 teams. They are also joint top with the United States for goals from set pieces (corners or free kicks), with five.
Messi became the fourth player to start quarterfinal matches at four World Cups, joining Germany’s Lothar Matthäus, Miroslav Klose and Uwe Seeler. Four of Julian Alvarez’s five World Cup goals have come in the knockout stage, matching Maradona’s record and the second highest for an Argentine, with Messi top on seven.
Alexis Mac Allister headed Argentina in front from Messi’s assist against Switzerland. Messi now has 10 World Cup assists, the most since 1966, with Maradona second on eight; 10 different players have scored from Messi’s assists.
His assist in the 10th minute (at 9:34) against Switzerland was Messi’s fastest World Cup assist, and his first World Cup assist from a corner. Messi has now joined Kylian Mbappé in contributing to 10 or more goals (goals and assists combined) across multiple World Cups: Mbappé contributed to 10 in 2022 and 11 in 2026, while Messi contributed to 10 in both 2022 and 2026, the only two players to do so in the past 60 years.
In Argentina’s last eight World Cup knockout matches, Messi has directly contributed to 13 goals (seven goals and six assists). Argentina have now had 13 matches go to extra time at the World Cup, a world record that breaks Germany’s mark of 12; counting shootout wins, they have won 11. Messi’s tally of goal contributions in World Cup knockout matches now stands at 15, the highest for any player in 60 years, breaking Mbappé’s record of 14.
In the quarterfinal against Switzerland, Argentina’s starting eleven had an average age of 30 years and 177 days, the oldest of any team in a World Cup quarterfinal; Brazil’s eleven against England in 1962 had an average age of 30 years and 209 days. Switzerland’s Breel Embolo left the field with a second yellow card against Argentina, becoming the fourth player in 60 years to receive a second yellow at the World Cup for deliberately faking a foul, joining Mexico’s Luis Pérez (2006, against Portugal), Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan (2006, against Brazil) and Italy’s Francesco Totti (2002, against South Korea). The Argentina-Switzerland quarterfinal was the eighth knockout match to go to extra time at this World Cup, matching the record of the 2014 and 1990 World Cups; but those tournaments had only 15 knockout matches each, whereas the 2026 World Cup has already held 28 knockout matches.
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