Argentina's national team is preparing to face Switzerland in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup, early next Sunday.

The defending champions reached the last eight after a thrilling 3-2 win over Egypt, while Switzerland advanced via penalties against Colombia.

According to AS newspaper, captain Lionel Messi and his coach Lionel Scaloni form a nearly unbeatable duo. Since their paths converged with the Argentine national team, they have only lost one knockout match in the World Cup and Copa América.

That defeat dates back to July 2, 2019, when Argentina fell 2-0 to Brazil in the Copa América semi-finals.

Since then, the Argentine team has achieved 12 consecutive victories in knockout stages of the World Cup and Copa América.

Argentina's strength in knockout matches is also backed by another remarkable statistic: they have not lost any match decided by penalties since June 26, 2016, when they lost the Copa América final to Chile under coach Tata Martino.

That match ended in a goalless draw before Chile won 4-2 on penalties, after both Messi and Lucas Biglia missed their spot kicks for Argentina.

Among the 12 victories Argentina has achieved under Scaloni in knockout rounds, four have come via penalties, most notably the win over France in the 2022 World Cup final.