World Cup: Argentina and England Struggle to Semi-Finals, Completing the Final Four

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Defending champions Argentina reached the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, narrowly overcoming a numerically reduced Switzerland 3-1 after extra time (the match ended 1-1 in regular time) in Kansas City, USA, to set up a meeting with England on Wednesday in Atlanta.

Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring for Argentina with a header from a corner kick taken by captain Lionel Messi (10th minute), and Dan Ndoye equalized for Switzerland (67th minute), before Julián Álvarez added the second goal (112th minute) and substitute Lautaro Martínez the third (120+1).

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Switzerland finished the match with ten men, after striker Breel Embolo was sent off by Portuguese referee João Pinheiro, following a VAR review, receiving a second yellow card for simulation, after a first in the 44th minute (72nd).

Argentina, who reached the semi-finals for the third time in their last four appearances, extended their dominance over Switzerland, having never lost to them in eight meetings, with four wins and four draws.

Mac Allister gave the world champions the lead, heading into the right corner a ball from Messi's left-sided corner (10').

Messi became the player with the most assists in World Cup history with 10.

Switzerland equalized through Ndoye, capping their dominance. After exchanging passes with Ricardo Rodríguez, the Nottingham Forest forward broke into the Argentine area from the left, then shot with his right foot, a low ground ball that passed between the legs of goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez.

But things quickly turned in favor of the world champions after Portuguese referee Pinheiro sent off Swiss striker Embolo, following a VAR review, receiving a second yellow card for simulation, after a first in the 44th minute (72nd), leaving the field in tears after his surprising reaction.

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Pinheiro had initially awarded a foul in favor of Embolo, then showed a yellow card to Leandro Paredes before canceling it after reviewing the situation.

Álvarez restored Argentina's lead in the second extra period, after receiving a ball from the left side outside the area, and placed it with his right foot in a wonderful curled shot into the top right corner (112th).

From a counterattack, substitute Martínez finished things off in the first minute of stoppage time (120+1).

Bellingham shines

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Earlier, Jude Bellingham scored two goals and led England, champions of the 1966 edition, to overturn a deficit against Norway into a 2-1 win after extra time, in Miami in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup, as the 'Three Lions' reached the semi-finals for the fourth time in their history.

Norway took the lead first through Andreas Schjelderup (36th minute), and England responded through Bellingham (45+2 and 93rd minutes), raising his tally to six goals in the current edition, his second consecutive brace after the first against Mexico (3-2) in the round of 16. At 23 years and 12 days, he became the second youngest player to score two or more goals in two consecutive matches in the knockout stages of the finals, after Brazilian legend Pelé in 1958 (17 years and 249 days).

This is the fourth time England have reached the semi-finals, after 1966 when they won the title, 1990 when they lost on penalties to West Germany who later won the title, and 2018 when they lost to Croatia 1-2 after extra time, finishing fourth on both occasions.

In contrast, Norway's run ended in the quarter-finals, which they reached for the first time in their history after eliminating Brazil, the record five-time champions, by beating them 2-1 in the round of 16. Their giant striker Erling Haaland posed no threat to England, especially to his Manchester City teammates John Stones and Marc Guéhi.

This is England's eighth win over Norway in 13 matches between them, with three draws and two losses. England are the runners-up of the last two European Championships.

England's German coach Thomas Tuchel said after the match: "We made things very, very difficult for ourselves today. The result is great, we are in the semi-finals, but I am not satisfied with the performance. We were lucky today. We need to play better. We will be better, and we need to be better."

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