Lionel Scaloni, head coach of the Argentine national team, admitted that luck played a role in his team's qualification for the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup, stressing that Switzerland imposed a very difficult match on his team.

The Argentine national team booked its place in the semi-finals of the World Cup, currently held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, after defeating Switzerland 3-1 after extra time, on Saturday evening local time, in the quarter-finals.

Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring for Argentina in the 10th minute, before Dan Ndoye equalized for Switzerland in the 67th minute.

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The Swiss national team suffered a heavy blow with the sending off of its striker Breel Embolo, after receiving his second yellow card for simulation during a 50-50 ball in midfield, following the referee's review of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), which applied the 'wrong identity' protocol.

Regular time ended in a 1-1 draw, before the Argentine team decided the match in extra time, with two goals scored by Julián Álvarez in the 112th minute, which was his first goal in the current edition of the World Cup and his fifth in his World Cup history, and then Lautaro Martínez in the first minute of the second extra time period, scoring his second goal in the tournament.

The Argentine national team, world champion in 1978, 1986, and 2022, set a date with the English national team in the semi-finals, after the latter defeated Norway 2-1 after extra time.

Scaloni said after the match: "Today we suffered a lot against Switzerland. We knew they were a physically strong team, and they made things more difficult for us. We did not know how to get out of difficult situations."

He added: "Luck was on our side in the match, especially after one of the Swiss players was sent off in the second half. We tried to attack, and we managed to decide things in extra time."

He continued: "We must be realistic. What happened tonight is historic; reaching the World Cup semi-finals does not happen often."

Regarding the upcoming match against England, Scaloni said: "We did not care about the opponent we would face, whether it was the English or Norwegian team. We will play against a team that plays very good football and has a great coach, but the most important thing for us is to recover quickly."

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