Argentina secured a place in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals with a 3-1 extra-time victory over Switzerland, in a match that produced several historic milestones despite Lionel Messi failing to score for the first time in nine consecutive World Cup appearances.

The reigning world champions overcame a resilient Swiss side after extra time, extending Argentina's remarkable record in knockout matches and adding several notable achievements to the tournament's history.

For the first time in FIFA World Cup history, the top four teams in the FIFA rankings have all reached the semi-finals.

It is also only the third time that four former World Cup champions have occupied all four semi-final spots, following the 1970 and 1990 tournaments.

Argentina have now reached the World Cup semi-finals three times in the last four editions (2014, 2022 and 2026), marking a dramatic turnaround after failing to reach the last four in any tournament between 1994 and 2010.

The match marked Argentina's record 13th World Cup game to go into extra time. They have won 11 of those encounters, including victories decided by penalty shootouts. Argentina have also scored a tournament-record nine goals during extra time in World Cup history.

For Switzerland, the defeat extended an unwanted record. They have now reached the World Cup quarter-finals four times—in 1934, 1938, 1954 and 2026—and have been eliminated on each occasion.

Julián Álvarez's decisive goal in the 112th minute became the second-latest goal ever scored against Switzerland in a World Cup match. The record remains Ángel Di María's winner in the 118th minute during Argentina's 1-0 victory over Switzerland in the Round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup.

Although Messi did not find the net, he continued to rewrite the record books. His assist for Alexis Mac Allister's goal was his 10th World Cup assist, the highest total by any player since 1966. Remarkably, each of Messi's 10 World Cup assists has been converted by a different teammate.

Messi also contributed to his 10th goal involvement of the 2026 World Cup, but his streak of scoring in nine consecutive World Cup matches came to an end.

Álvarez, meanwhile, took his World Cup tally to five goals, with four of them coming in knockout matches. He has now equaled Diego Maradona's record for Argentina's knockout-stage World Cup goals, trailing only Messi, who has scored seven.

Head coach Lionel Scaloni also extended his impressive unbeaten record against European opposition as Argentina manager to 10 matches, with seven wins and three draws.

The match also saw a rare disciplinary record. Switzerland's Breel Embolo became only the fourth player in World Cup history to receive a second yellow card for simulation (diving), and the first since Ghana's Asamoah Gyan was sent off for the same offence against Brazil at the 2006 World Cup.

BOB Post