It was a World Cup quarterfinal, and it had everything, thrill and nerves alike. After the late drama, it was Lionel Messi and his teammates who were smiling. A nine-minute storm of attacks near the end of extra time brought Lionel Scaloni’s side two goals to stretch their lead, and Argentina booked a semifinal place by beating Switzerland 3-1 in a breathless match. With the game level 1-1 after the regulation 90 minutes at Kansas City Stadium, it went to extra time, where the Albiceleste finally broke down the Swiss defense to reach the last four. In the semifinal, Scaloni’s men will face England.
Defending champions Argentina pressed hard on the Swiss defense from the start and were rewarded in the 10th minute, when midfielder Alexis Mac Allister finished a fine move to put them 1-0 up. Argentina dominated possession and attack for the rest of the first half but could not extend the lead, while Switzerland launched several counterattacks without scoring.
Switzerland pushed hard to get back into the game in the second half, and in the 67th minute Dan Ndoye equalized with a fine finish to make it 1-1. The match then turned into a fierce contest, but in the 72nd minute the Swiss suffered a big blow when their star forward Breel Embolo was sent off for a second bookable offense (a red card), reducing them to 10 men. Even a man down, they held off Argentina’s attack until the end of the 90 minutes.
Against 10-man Switzerland, Argentina went all out in extra time. The Swiss goalkeeper and defenders heroically repelled several attacks but could not hold out. In the 112th minute, Argentina forward Julian Alvarez scored with a precise shot to make it 2-1, and in the very last moment of the match (120+1) Lautaro Martinez drove the final nail into Switzerland’s coffin, sealing a superb 3-1 win.
The win took Argentina to the semifinals, where they will meet a strong England side in the race for a place in the final on Wednesday, July 15. In the tournament’s first semifinal, on Tuesday, July 14, France will take on Spain.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report