The winner of this Argentina v Switzerland match will face England in the semi-finals, after England beat Norway in extra time in the other quarter-final.
Team News
Lionel Scaloni has no changes from the Argentina XI that staged a remarkable fightback against Egypt in the last 16. Lionel Messi starts in what will be his 205th appearance for the national side. Murat Yakin has one change to the Swiss XI he started against Colombia: midfielder Ardon Jashari is out and Djibril Sow is in.
Argentina (poss 4-1-3-2): E Martinez; Tagliafico, L Martinez, Romero, Molina; Paredes; Fernandez, Mac Allister, De Paul; Alvarez, Messi. Switzerland (poss 4-2-3-1): Kobel; Zakaria, Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez; Freuler, Xhaka; Ndoye, Sow, Rieder; Embolo. Referee: João Pinheiro (Portugal).
Match Context
Argentina and Switzerland have met seven times; the Swiss have never won. One notable encounter was the 2014 World Cup last 16, where Argentina won in extra time en route to the final. Lionel Messi, Granit Xhaka and Ricardo Rodriguez all played that day and are on the field again today.
Granit Xhaka on stopping Messi: “I don’t know if we can stop him over 90 minutes. It’s going to be very difficult. We have to be smart. We’ll have to be compact, close the gaps and not give him too many spaces. We will try, obviously, to play in possession when we have the ball, and he won’t be able to act as much. We’ll just try to play our game and not allow him to play the ball.”
Messi's World Cup
Lionel Messi is having quite the World Cup. He became the leading scorer in the history of the men’s tournament, recorded his 200th cap for Argentina, turned 39, fueled two remarkable finishes, and has a goal streak across six knockout matches dating back to the 2022 final. Only two players in World Cup history have scored in every match of a tournament-winning campaign: Alcide Ghigga of Uruguay in 1950 and Jairzinho of Brazil in 1970, though they played fewer games.
Argentina's Journey
After cruising through the group stage, Argentina survived two major scares in the knockout round: first against Cape Verde in extra time in the last 32, then against Egypt in the last 16. They needed stoppage-time heroics and an own goal to avoid what might have been the greatest upset in history. Against Egypt, they trailed 2-0 until the 79th minute before Messi spearheaded a 10-minute swing.
Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni said after the Egypt match: “Football is this, not just tactics and strategies. Those things are important, no doubt, but if we hadn’t had the heart we had, we would’ve been out.”
Switzerland's Campaign
Switzerland are in the final eight of the World Cup for the first time since 1954. The Group B winners beat Algeria in the last 32 and survived a tense chess match against Colombia before escaping on penalties. Their veteran core has been strong in knockout football, but much of their success has come from 20-year-old Johan Manzambi, who has three goals and two assists in two appearances. He missed the last 16 with a knee injury and is out again for this game.
What's at Stake
If Argentina win, their quest to become the first team to claim back-to-back World Cup titles remains alive. If Switzerland win, they will continue the best major tournament run in their history and ensure an all-European last four. The semi-final will be held in Atlanta on Wednesday.
