FIFA World Cup 2026: Argentina beat Switzerland in extra time, set up…

Kansas City (Missouri) [US], July 12 (ANI): Defending champions Argentina booked their place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals with a dramatic 3-1 extra-time victory over Switzerland on Saturday (local time), setting up a blockbuster last-four clash against England.

After surviving a stern test against Egypt in the Round of 16, Lionel Scaloni’s men produced another hard-fought display to move within two wins of retaining the World Cup crown, a feat last achieved by Brazil in 1962.

Argentina made the brighter start and were rewarded in the 10th minute through Alexis Mac Allister. Lionel Messi’s inviting corner found the midfielder, who glanced a precise header beyond Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel to hand La Albiceleste an early advantage. albergomalica.it

The South Americans controlled much of the opening period, while Switzerland struggled to create meaningful opportunities. Their best chance came through Djibril Sow, whose long-range effort was comfortably dealt with by Emiliano Martinez.

The Swiss grew into the contest after the break and began asking more questions of the Argentine defence. Dan Ndoye was denied by a superb block from Lisandro Martinez before Emiliano Martinez produced back-to-back saves to keep out Breel Embolo and Granit Xhaka.

Switzerland’s persistence finally paid off in the 67th minute when Ndoye combined neatly with Ricardo Rodriguez before calmly finishing past Martinez to bring Murat Yakin’s side level.

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However, the momentum shifted dramatically just five minutes later as Embolo was shown a second yellow card for simulation, reducing Switzerland to 10 men for the remainder of the contest.

Argentina pushed relentlessly for a winner in normal time, with Messi curling narrowly wide and Lautaro Martinez forcing Kobel into an excellent save, but Switzerland held firm to send the match into extra time.

Scaloni’s side eventually found the breakthrough in the 112th minute through Julian Alvarez. Cutting in from the left, the forward unleashed a superb strike from around 25 yards that flew into the top corner, leaving Kobel with no chance and sparking wild celebrations among the Argentine supporters.

Switzerland committed numbers forward in search of another equaliser, but the defending champions sealed victory in the closing stages when Lautaro Martinez reacted quickest to convert the rebound after Kobel had made an initial save.

The 3-1 victory sends Argentina into the semi-finals, where they will face England in a highly anticipated showdown as Lionel Messi and company continue their quest to successfully defend the World Cup title.

A lot of football fans watched Argentina’s do-or-die match at the NYC Rockefeller Centre and celebrated the win of the reigning champions. (ANI)

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Dubai [UAE], July 12 (ANI): ICC Chairman Jay Shah congratulated former India captains Sourav Ganguly and Anjum Chopra, along with former England batter Kevin Pietersen, after the three cricketers were inducted into the prestigious ICC Hall of Fame.

He said that three “extraordinary individuals" have contributed greatly to cricket.

“I am delighted to welcome the latest inductees into the @ICC Hall of Fame, a tribute to the extraordinary individuals whose achievements have contributed greatly to our sport. @SGanguly99, @chopraanjum and @KP24 have all led their national teams with pride, and I would like to congratulate them on behalf of the ICC for this richly deserved honour," Shah said in a post on X.

The International Cricket Council announced the three new inductions on Saturday, recognising their outstanding contributions to the game across different eras and formats. The ICC Hall of Fame honours cricketers whose achievements have left a lasting impact on the sport.

Ganguly joins the elite list after an illustrious international career in which he scored more than 18,000 runs. Widely regarded as one of India’s most influential captains, Ganguly transformed the team’s mindset with his fearless leadership and aggressive approach.

He made an unforgettable start to his Test career with a century at Lord’s and later formed one of ODI cricket’s most successful opening partnerships with Sachin Tendulkar. Under his captaincy, India reached the 2003 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final and produced the famous 2001 Kolkata Test victory over Australia after following on.

Former India Women’s captain Anjum Chopra earned a place in the Hall of Fame for her pioneering role in the growth of women’s cricket in the country. During a 17-year international career, Chopra scored more than 3,500 runs and became the first Indian woman to feature in 100 One-Day Internationals.

She captained India to first-ever overseas Test victory against South Africa and played a vital role in laying the foundation for the future success of the women’s game in India.

Completing this year’s list is former England batting star Kevin Pietersen, one of the most destructive batters of his generation. Pietersen amassed 13,797 international runs and was instrumental in England’s triumph at the 2010 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, where he was named Player of the Tournament.

A dominant performer in both Tests and ODIs, Pietersen also reached the No. 1 spot in the ICC ODI batter rankings and was a multiple-time selection in the ICC Teams of the Year. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

Breel Embolo was once a teenage prodigy. Born in Cameroon, he and his divorced mother made their way to Switzerland via France, where he quickly established himself in the age-group teams. He made his debut for Switzerland in March 2015 at the age of 18 and has since scored 26 goals for the national side.

His club career, however, has been an itinerant one, taking him from Switzerland to Germany and then France. His highest return in a league season remains the 12 goals he scored for Monaco in 2022–23. Yet, that is not what he will be remembered for now.

In a World Cup quarter-final against reigning champions Argentina, Switzerland had their opponents on the ropes, only for sheer stupidity on Embolo’s part to throw the game away.

After Argentina had taken an early lead through Alexis Mac Allister’s glancing header, Switzerland were the brighter side. They finished the first half strongly and dominated much of the second. So, when Dan Ndoye equalised, it came as no surprise. The goal had been coming after sustained pressure and long passages of play in which Argentina could barely string five passes together.

Then came the turning point.

Seconds after a reckless challenge on Leandro Paredes, Embolo went to ground near the touchline, attempting to win a foul. In an era where dozens of cameras capture every moment, only Embolo can explain why he thought he would get away with it.

Paredes, who had clearly tried to pull out of the challenge, was initially shown a yellow card. However, VAR intervened and asked referee João Pinheiro to review the incident. Replays made it abundantly clear that Embolo had dived in anticipation of contact that never came. The referee had little option but to rescind Paredes’ booking and instead show Embolo a second yellow card.

Switzerland, who had been firmly on top, were suddenly down to 10 men and had to play the remainder of the contest a player short. Even then, they held their own and pushed Argentina all the way.

It took Argentina until the second half of extra time to find the breakthrough that sent them into the semi-finals. Murat Yakin and his players will no doubt rally around a distraught Embolo, but they will forever wonder what might have been.

Make no mistake: this was a match Switzerland should have won, were it not for the moment of madness that changed everything.

Also Read: Argentina Edge Spirited Switzerland 3-1 After Extra Time to Reach World Cup Last Four

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Argentina and Switzerland are taking on each other in the quarter-final of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2026. The clash sees defending champions Argentina taking on Switzerland in the Kansas City Stadium, and both sides will look to put in their best performance. It is worth noting that Argentina are coming on the back of a thrilling win over Egypt in the round of 16 stage, and it could be interesting to see how they fare in the upcoming game.

Jude Bellingham locked arms with teammate Harry Kane as England fans belted out the Beatles’ “Hey Jude.”

Bellingham certainly earned the serenade.

He scored twice on Saturday — an equaliser in the first half and the go-ahead goal in the third minute of extra time — to lift England past Norway 2-1 and into the FIFA World Cup semifinals for the first time since 2018.

The Real Madrid star has now matched Kane with six goals in this tournament, two behind France’s Kylian Mbappe and Argentina’s Lionel Messi and one shy of Norway’s Erling Haaland, who was held scoreless by England. Bellingham also scored twice in the round of 16 as England beat co-host Mexico.

England, winner of the 1966 World Cup and facing pressure to return to the title match, is now one win away from getting there. The Three Lions will face either Argentina or Switzerland, who were set to play Saturday night in Kansas City, Missouri.

Not everyone was thrilled with England’s performance.

“We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today,” coach Thomas Tuchel said in a contentious interview with Fox Sports. “The result is fantastic. We’re in the last four. It’s amazing, but not happy with the performance … in every sense.”

Bellingham seemed to disagree with his coach’s critique after England prevailed in the heat and humidity of South Florida, with temperatures reaching 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33 Celsius) at the start of warm-ups.

“Well, whatever,” Bellingham said, shaking his head. “It’s difficult out there. It’s a tough shift. My thoughts and appreciation goes to the players out there who put in a great shift.”

Andreas Schjelderup scored in the 36^th minute for Norway, a squad that reached its first quarterfinals and took the internet by storm with its “Viking row” and the charisma of Haaland, their fearsome 6-foot-5 striker.

Haaland was kept off the scoresheet for the first time in this World Cup. The Manchester City star sat dejectedly on the bench after he was subbed out for Jorgen Strand Larsen in the second half of extra time.

Norway nearly went ahead 2-1 in the 56^th minute when Torbjørn Heggem put a rebound past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford after a corner kick. Following a video review, the goal was disallowed because of a foul by Haaland in the box. Haaland was also denied by Pickford on a point-blank header in the first half.

Schjelderup, making just his second start of the tournament, fired a shot that caromed off the right post and into the net to stun an England team that had dominated possession to that point. Bellingham’s equaliser from close range elicited a roar from that crowd that included Mick Jagger and England great David Beckham.

Schjelderup, who set up both of Haaland’s goals in Norway’s round of 16 win over Brazil, celebrated by stretching his arms wide and looking at the crowd as his teammates lifted him onto their shoulders. Meanwhile, Kane sat near midfield, grabbing his leg and looking toward the officials. No foul was called.

Moments before Bellingham evened the score, a Norway goal kick resulted in the ball appearing to make contact with an aerial camera cable before landing at the feet of England’s Elliot Anderson. The ball was eventually played to Bellingham, who beat Ørjan Nyland with a low shot to the far post. By rule, if the ball had been noticed hitting the cable, play would have stopped, and a drop ball would have been utilised to determine possession. FIFA later said the sensor in the ball indicated it did not touch the cable.

There was a brief moment of silence before the match in honour of Jayden Adams, the 25-year-old midfielder for South Africa whose death was announced earlier Saturday.