Argentina to play England in World Cup semis after Alvarez's stunner sinks Switzerland

Julian Alvarez picked a perfect time to score his first goal at the 2026 World Cup. It may go down as the best strike of the entire tournament.

Alvarez unleashed a sensational, unstoppable curler into the top corner in the 112th minute to give the reigning champion a 2-1 lead over 10-man Switzerland in their World Cup quarterfinal Saturday in Kansas City.

Lautaro Martinez then sealed Argentina's 3-1 victory in the 121st minute.

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Argentina will play England in the World Cup semifinals after the Three Lions defeated Norway (also in extra time) earlier in the day.

World Cup semifinals

Tuesday, July 14

France vs. Spain (3 p.m. ET - Dallas)

Wednesday, July 15

England vs. Argentina (3 p.m. ET - Atlanta)

For the first time since the FIFA rankings were introduced, the World Cup semifinals will feature the four top-ranked nations.

"We're among the best four," Alvarez said, according to Dave Skretta of The Associated Press. "So we're meeting our objectives, and we knew it wasn't going to be easy. The whole match was hard, and we would have loved to have the win earlier, but we tried to get the win however we could.

"The opponent was really good but we fought until the end, and finally the goals came."

Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring in the 10th minute when he headed home Lionel Messi's corner kick.

Messi went into the match on a nine-game scoring streak at the World Cup. That run ultimately came to an end, but his assist did move him just one behind Kylian Mbappe in the Golden Boot race; both players have eight goals at the tournament, but Mbappe holds the tiebreaker with three assists.

For a large portion of the second half Saturday night, it looked like Messi's tournament might also be coming to an end.

Switzerland responded to Mac Allister's early marker by controlling much of the game and pinning Argentina deep inside its own half. Dan Ndoye eventually made the Swiss pressure count with a slick equalizer in the 67th minute after a one-two on the edge of the Argentina box.

The Swiss momentum evaporated just five minutes later, however, as influential forward Breel Embolo was sent off after a controversial yellow card - his second of the match - for simulation following a VAR review.

Embolo was shown a yellow by referee Joao Pinheiro for a case of "mistaken identity" after the Portuguese official had initially given the card to Leandro Paredes for an apparent foul by the Argentine on the play. But, after reviewing the footage, Pinheiro said there was "clear" simulation by Embolo, who appeared to throw himself to the ground and stick out his leg to initiate contact with Paredes.

"I just don't understand how VAR can make that kind of decision," Swiss defender Nico Elvedi said after the match.

Despite the man advantage for the remaining 18 minutes - plus nine minutes of stoppage time - the Albiceleste couldn't find a winning goal in normal time, as Switzerland defended resolutely and held on to force an additional 30 minutes.

Alvarez made the difference in extra time with a goal that will live long in the memory, and Martinez made certain of a victory that now sets up a mouthwatering semifinal clash with Thomas Tuchel's England.