Lautaro Martínez seals Argentina's 3-1 extra-time win over Switzerland

Lautaro Martínez finished a rapid counterattack in the 120+1 minute to send Argentina past Switzerland 3-1 in a World Cup quarterfinal in Kansas City Stadium. The victory on July 11 carried Lionel Scaloni’s team into a semifinal against England on Wednesday in Atlanta and kept Argentina’s title defense alive.

Argentina controlled the opening phase through Alexis Mac Allister, who scored in the 10th minute after a corner from Lionel Messi. Switzerland answered after the break when Dan Ndoye equalized in the 67th minute, briefly turning the match into a test of whether Argentina could handle a game that had already become tense and uneven.

The turning point had come earlier with Breel Embolo’s dismissal, which left Switzerland with 10 men for nearly 50 minutes. Argentina did not immediately put the match away, and the pressure built as the clock moved toward extra time. Julián Álvarez finally broke the deadlock in the 112th minute with a strike from outside the area, restoring Argentina’s lead and forcing Switzerland into a frantic chase.

Martínez then settled it at the end of the match, arriving to finish after a rebound from the Swiss goalkeeper and push the ball into the net for 3-1. FIFA’s match report described Argentina as having downed 10-man Switzerland in extra time, and the scoreline matched the tournament record: Argentina’s second extra-time win in three knockout-round games at this World Cup.

That pattern is now defining Argentina’s run. The team has found a way through tight elimination games, with Mac Allister, Álvarez and Martínez all delivering decisive goals in a match that stretched well past 90 minutes. The sequence has also left little margin for error, even with Argentina still unbeaten in the stage that matters most.

Against England in Atlanta, Argentina will again enter a high-stakes knockout match with the title defense on the line. The quarterfinal in Kansas City showed both sides of its tournament identity: the ability to survive pressure late, and the danger of relying on rescue acts when control is already slipping.