Argentina and England reach World Cup semifinals after extra-time wins

Argentina did not cruise into the World Cup semifinals. It needed extra time to beat 10-man Switzerland in Kansas City Stadium on July 12, and Julián Álvarez delivered the decisive goal in a match that felt more like survival than domination. The win kept Argentina’s bid for a second straight world title and a fourth overall alive in a tournament that has expanded to 48 teams, 104 matches and 16 host cities across Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The result also sharpened the question around Argentina’s championship credentials. Beating Switzerland in extra time, even against a side reduced to 10 men, suggested resilience and a ruthless edge when the match tightened, but it did not look like the kind of commanding performance that settles title debates on its own. Álvarez’s golazo was the difference, yet the quarter-final showed how quickly Argentina can be dragged into a contest that leaves little room for error.

England’s route to the last four carried a different warning. Jude Bellingham scored twice, in the 45+2 and the 93rd minute, as England came from behind to beat Norway 2-1 in extra time at Miami Stadium on July 11. FIFA named Bellingham Player of the Match after a performance that turned a tense quarter-final into a statement about England’s depth and timing.

Norway had already written a small piece of history by reaching the quarter-finals for the first time, after finishing second in Group I behind France. That made England’s comeback even more telling: a side that had never been this far before pushed England deep into extra time before Bellingham settled it. The margin was narrow, but the response was calm and clinical when it mattered most.

Together, the two results set up a semifinal that should tell more about both teams than the early rounds did. Argentina have already shown they can endure pressure and still find a match-winner. England have shown they can recover from a setback and lean on Bellingham at decisive moments. With the third-place match scheduled for July 18 and the final set for July 19 at New York New Jersey Stadium, the next round will decide whether Argentina’s run looks dominant, merely resilient, or newly vulnerable, and whether England’s surge is the shape of a true title threat.