KC’s dramatic World Cup finale featured Messi, red card & goal of the tournament
Say this for Argentina. The defending FIFA World Cup champion knows drama.
Argentina is moving on to the semifinals after a 3-1 triumph over Switzerland in a quarterfinal match at Kansas City (Arrowhead) Stadium on Saturday.
The game-winner was a rocket shot from Julian Alvarez from a few feet beyond the box, a ball that Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, outstanding throughout the evening, couldn’t reach.
The game was in the 112th minute when Alvarez scored, a testimony to Switzerland’s outstanding defense, playing down a man since the 72nd minute.
“We’re extremely happy I have to say,” Alvarez said. “We waited until the very end. Things got complicated. We had one extra player. We went into extra time. We knew if we worked as a unit the goal would ultimately come. And that’s what happened.”
Argentina tacked on a goal in the 121st minute to end any doubt about the outcome.
The semifinals are set, with the top-4 seeds in the FIFA rankings still playing. Top-ranked France will meet No. 3 Spain in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday. No. 2 Argentina faces No. 4 England in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Kansas City’s World Cup hosting duties have ended, but the city is guaranteed to have a presence in the championship game with Argentina and England holding base camps in KC.
Switzerland, in a quarterfinal for the first time since 1954, surrendered a goal 10 minutes into the game and couldn’t ever fully recover. The Swiss run ends after outlasting Algeria and Colombia in elimination games.
The game’s first goal came from a set piece, and although Lionel Messi had his streak of scoring a goal in a World Cup game end at nine, he started the goal sequence with a corner kick from the right side. Alexis Mac Allister went over the back of a defender and finished with a header.
Switzerland experienced a range of emotions midway through the second half. Dan Ndoye worked a give-and-go with Ricardo Rodriguez and curled a right-footed blast from the wing through the legs of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez in the 67th minute to make it 1-1.
But five minutes later, the Swiss striker Breel Embolo received his second yellow card of the game from Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro. That meant a red card and disqualification. Embolo left the field in tears and was helped to the locker room. Switzerland was down to 10 players.
At No. 14 in the FIFA rankings, Switzerland was the highest ranked team Argentina had faced. And Argentina had been living on the edge recently, surviving a one-goal triumph over World Cup first-timer Cabo Verde and putting together a miraculous comeback in the Round of 16 against Egypt after falling behind 2-0.
The drama continued Saturday for Messi and Argentina, whose players collapsed to the turf at the end of another heart-stopping match.
This story was originally published July 11, 2026 at 11:04 PM with the headline "KC’s dramatic World Cup finale featured Messi, red card & goal of the tournament."