2 hours ago
Key events
Team news
Argentina (poss 4-1-3-2): E Martinez; Tagliafico, L Martinez, Romero, Molina; Paredes; Fernandez, Mac Allister, De Paul; Alvarez, Messi
Switzerland (poss 4-2-3-1): Kobel; Zakaria, Akanji, Elvedi, Rodriguez; Freuler, Xhaka; Ndoye, Rieder, Sow; Embolo
Referee: João Pinheiro (Portugal)
A portion from Jonathan Wilson earlier successful nan tourney that I very overmuch enjoyed: an question and reply pinch Luciana Alvarengue, nan erstwhile maths coach of Enzo Fernández and Julián Alvarez successful Buenos Aires:
Lionel Messi, successful lawsuit you didn’t know, is having rather nan World Cup. He became nan starring scorer successful nan history of nan men’s tournament, recorded his 200th headdress for Argentina, turned 39, fueled 2 singular finishes, and has a extremity streak that stretches crossed six knockout matches, making love backmost to nan 2022 final.
Here’s immoderate trivia for your watch party. Only 2 players successful World Cup history person scored successful each lucifer of a tournament-winning campaign. They were Alcide Ghigga of Uruguay successful 1950 and Jairzinho of Brazil successful 1970. The main quality is that they each had less games to play: Ghigga played 4 and Jairzinho played six.
Argentina and Switzerland person met 7 times. The Swiss person ne'er won.
One of nan much notable encounters: nan 2014 World Cup past 16, wherever Argentina won successful other clip en way to their quality successful nan final. Lionel Messi, Granit Xhaka and Ricardo Rodriguez each played that time successful Brazil and will beryllium connected nan section again today.
What’s Xhaka’s attack to stopping Messi?
double quotation markI don’t cognize if we tin extremity him complete 90 minutes. It’s going to beryllium very difficult. We person to beryllium smart. We’ll person to beryllium compact, adjacent nan gaps and not springiness him excessively galore spaces. We will try, obviously, to play successful possession erstwhile we person nan ball, and he won’t beryllium capable to enactment arsenic much. We’ll conscionable effort to play our crippled and not let him to play nan ball.
Pablo Iglesias Maurer
Argentina will request Lionel Messi and overmuch much against Switzerland. They will request to enactment successful precocious cogwheel for longer stretches. They cannot trust connected vibes unsocial arsenic they person sometimes seemed to this summer. Yet to many, nan chaotic power of this Argentina broadside is precisely why they are beloved. Perhaps Lionel Scaloni is among them.
“Football is this, not conscionable strategies and strategies,” he said, his sound tinged pinch emotion aft nan Egypt match. “Those things are important, nary doubt, but if we hadn’t had nan bosom we had, we would’ve been out.”
Jude Bellingham has put England up successful nan different quarter-final.
Meanwhile, we should person squad news soon for Argentina v Switzerland. A spot much than 90 minutes until kick-off successful Kansas City.
In Miami, wherever it’s rather basking and rather tense, Norway and England are going to other clip successful nan different quarter-final. Scott Murray has each nan updates:
Preamble
Hello and invited to nan 4th and last quarter-final of this World Cup!
Argentina v Switzerland. The holders v nan underdogs. The broadside that person 3 World Cups v nan broadside that person ne'er reached nan past four. Pure process v axenic affectional chaos. A spot successful Wednesday’s semi-final against either Norway aliases England successful Atlanta is connected nan line. If Argentina win, their quest to go nan first squad to declare back-to-back World Cup titles remains alive. If Switzerland win, they will proceed nan champion awesome tourney tally successful their history and guarantee an all-European past four.
How did we get here? After cruising done nan group stage, Argentina survived 2 awesome scares successful nan knockout round: first against Cape Verde successful other clip successful nan past 32, past against Egypt successful nan past 16. They needed stoppage-time heroics and nan use of an ain extremity successful nan erstwhile to debar what mightiness person been nan top upset successful nan history of master sport. In nan latter, they trailed 2-0 until nan 79th minute. It was Lionel Messi, per usual, who spearheaded a 10-minute plaything and pushed his squad into nan quarter-finals.
Switzerland are successful nan last 8 of nan World Cup for nan first clip since 1954. The Group B winners hit Algeria successful nan past 32 and past survived a tense chess lucifer of a last-16 crippled against Colombia earlier escaping connected penalties. Their seasoned halfway has been very bully astatine knockout shot successful caller years, but overmuch of their occurrence astatine this tourney has travel from nan attacking exploits of 20-year-old Johan Manzambi, who has 3 goals and 2 assists successful 2 appearances. In a rustle to nan Nati, he missed nan past 16 and is retired again pinch a knee wounded for this game.
Can Switzerland propulsion a shock? Will Messi’s magic onslaught again? I’ll beryllium backmost soon pinch squad news. In nan meantime, nonstop immoderate thoughts to [email protected], and tune successful to nan extremity of Norway v England, which seems bound for other time.
