On one side of the pitch is Argentina, the defending World Cup champions, with a squad that includes the likes of Lautaro Martinez, Julián Alvarez and of course Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest player of his generation.
On the other side, Switzerland.
Yes, Saturday night’s final quarter-final could hardly seem like a bigger mismatch. Argentina has the glitz and glamour, not to mention the stars and the trophies, while the Swiss have never reached the semi-finals of the World Cup; In fact, they haven’t been to the quarter-finals since 1954, when they lost to Austria in a tournament they hosted.
But anything can happen on the pitch, as Argentina and the rest of the world learned when the three-time champions struggled to beat Cape Verde and then The Albiceleste had to recover from a 2-0 deficit in the final eleven minutes to beat Egypt on Tuesday. And that has given hope to a Swiss team that defeated Colombia on penalties and could set up a date with the Argentinians at Arrowhead Stadium.
«We know that Argentina has many great qualities. Few talk about the Swiss qualities,» defensive midfielder and team captain Granit Xhaka said on Friday. “Tomorrow we will talk on the field and show what we can do, and everything else doesn’t matter.”
The winner will play Norway or England in Atlanta on Wednesday for a place in the World Cup final.
«It’s obviously a very tough challenge,» said Swiss defender Manuel Akanji, «but I think we are ready for it. I think we can play against any opponent and make it difficult for them. We know it will be difficult, but we will do our best.»
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It all starts with Switzerland’s defense, which has allowed just three goals in five games and kept Luis Díaz and Colombia sidelined for 120 minutes in the round of 16. The task of stopping Messi’s World Cup charm will fall on the shoulders of Xhaka and Akanji, along with Remo Freuler, Nico Elvedi and goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
In the meantime, The Albiceleste are on an 11-match unbeaten run at the World Cup, dating back to 2022 in Qatar, and they have scored multiple goals in each of those matches, tying Uruguay for the longest streak in tournament history.
Messi, who scored a hat-trick against Algeria in a group match at the Arrowhead Stadium, is level with French striker Kylian Mbappe with eight goals each in their race for the Golden Boot. The 39-year-old Argentina captain has scored a record 21 goals in his World Cup career, including at least one in a record six consecutive knockout games.
Messi’s goal against Egypt leveled the match in the 83rd minute before Enzo Fernández netted the winner in stoppage time.
“Especially for the players on the bench, the players who watch Lionel Messi play and can’t believe what they see – he should be a role model for them,” said Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni. “He tries it again and again, and it gives me goosebumps.”
He may give his own team goosebumps, but Messi sends a different kind of shiver through the opposition.
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«I don’t know if we can stop him in 90 minutes. It will be difficult,» said Xhaka. «But we have to be smart and compact, close the gaps and not give him too much space. We just try to play our game.»
Argentina seems to start the match healthy, but Switzerland will again be without midfielder Johan Manzambi due to a knee injury. The SC Freiburg star scored two goals in a 4-1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the group stage.
“We have done everything we can to get him back in top form,” said Swiss national coach Murat Yakin. «The momentum was on his side, and there’s so much joy when he plays, and he has his teammates by his side. Everything has been going so well for him so far.»
One of the biggest concerns for the games in Kansas City was the weather, not only because of the heavy storms in the Heartland, but also because of the heat indexes that often exceed triple digits in the summer. But temperatures should be around 30 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) for the start of the race, with only a slight chance of precipitation.
During several matches during the World Cup, the referee was put in the spotlight, but FIFA decided to focus on it before this match started. Normally, FIFA tries to appoint referees from different confederations to avoid any bias. But it will be Portugal’s João Pinheiro – like Switzerland, a UEFA country – who will follow the action on Saturday evening.
Published on July 11, 2026
