by Craig Laycock
Original article:
Argentina 3 - 1 Switzerland
Mac Allister (10'), Alvarez (112' ET), Martínez (120'+1) | Ndoye (67')
RED CARD: Embolo (72')
A moment of madness, or a moment of magic: it’s unclear which had the biggest impact on this tie.
With Breel Embolo sent off with a second yellow for simulation and the game poised at 1-1, Switzerland found themselves with a mountain to climb bigger than the Matterhorn. But Julian Alvarez’s incredible extra time strike was good enough to win any game of football.
Argentina opened the scoring in the 10th minute via Alexis Mac Allister, flicking home from a Lionel Messi corner. Despite that opener, for large parts of the game, Switzerland were the better side.
The Swiss looked the far more dangerous of the two sides, and Argentina didn’t get another shot on target for 90 minutes. It was Ndoye who made Switzerland’s control of the ball pay off, with the Nottingham Forest man combining with Rodriguez before scoring through the legs of Emiliano Martinez.
It was looking good for Switzerland until the sending off of Embolo. He went down dramatically under what seemed to be a challenge from Leandro Paredes, who picked up a booking. But under FIFA’s “mistaken identity” rule, the decision was reviewed and multiple angles showed a blatant dive from Embolo.
With no option but to issue a second yellow, Embolo received his marching orders in significant distress, knowing he now gave his team a near impossible task to hang on with depleted numbers against the defending champions.
They almost managed it, but Argentina used their numbers to work their way back into the game. What seemed to be heading towards an attritional period of extra time was then broken by a moment of individual brilliance by Julian Alvarez.
His 25 yard effort was a goal of the tournament contender, as his curling strike from the edge of the box spun inside the post to nestle in the top corner.
Although the game was effectively done at that point, Argentina scored a third to make absolutely sure of it. With ten man Switzerland stretched in desperation trying to find an equaliser, Martinez hit them on the counter and slotted a calm finish home to set up a blockbuster semi-final game against England on Wednesday.
With the final quarter final match played, the top four FIFA ranked teams in the world happen to be the final four in the competition, undoubtedly shaped by FIFA’s seeding the top four so they would not be able to face each other if they won their groups.
5 min read
Quarter Final: Argentina 3 - 1 Switzerland
Swiss go home empty-handed after needless 2nd yellow.
5 min read
Argentina 3 - 1 Switzerland
Mac Allister (10'), Alvarez (112' ET), Martínez (120'+1) | Ndoye (67')
RED CARD: Embolo (72')
A moment of madness, or a moment of magic: it’s unclear which had the biggest impact on this tie.
With Breel Embolo sent off with a second yellow for simulation and the game poised at 1-1, Switzerland found themselves with a mountain to climb bigger than the Matterhorn. But Julian Alvarez’s incredible extra time strike was good enough to win any game of football.
Argentina opened the scoring in the 10th minute via Alexis Mac Allister, flicking home from a Lionel Messi corner. Despite that opener, for large parts of the game, Switzerland were the better side.
The Swiss looked the far more dangerous of the two sides, and Argentina didn’t get another shot on target for 90 minutes. It was Ndoye who made Switzerland’s control of the ball pay off, with the Nottingham Forest man combining with Rodriguez before scoring through the legs of Emiliano Martinez.
It was looking good for Switzerland until the sending off of Embolo. He went down dramatically under what seemed to be a challenge from Leandro Paredes, who picked up a booking. But under FIFA’s “mistaken identity” rule, the decision was reviewed and multiple angles showed a blatant dive from Embolo.
With no option but to issue a second yellow, Embolo received his marching orders in significant distress, knowing he now gave his team a near impossible task to hang on with depleted numbers against the defending champions.
They almost managed it, but Argentina used their numbers to work their way back into the game. What seemed to be heading towards an attritional period of extra time was then broken by a moment of individual brilliance by Julian Alvarez.
His 25 yard effort was a goal of the tournament contender, as his curling strike from the edge of the box spun inside the post to nestle in the top corner.
Although the game was effectively done at that point, Argentina scored a third to make absolutely sure of it. With ten man Switzerland stretched in desperation trying to find an equaliser, Martinez hit them on the counter and slotted a calm finish home to set up a blockbuster semi-final game against England on Wednesday.
With the final quarter final match played, the top four FIFA ranked teams in the world happen to be the final four in the competition, undoubtedly shaped by FIFA’s seeding the top four so they would not be able to face each other if they won their groups.
Quarter Final: Argentina 3 - 1 Switzerland
Swiss go home empty-handed after needless 2nd yellow.
Original article:
Argentina 3 - 1 Switzerland
Mac Allister (10'), Alvarez (112' ET), Martínez (120'+1) | Ndoye (67')
RED CARD: Embolo (72')
A moment of madness, or a moment of magic: it’s unclear which had the biggest impact on this tie.
With Breel Embolo sent off with a second yellow for simulation and the game poised at 1-1, Switzerland found themselves with a mountain to climb bigger than the Matterhorn. But Julian Alvarez’s incredible extra time strike was good enough to win any game of football.
Argentina opened the scoring in the 10th minute via Alexis Mac Allister, flicking home from a Lionel Messi corner. Despite that opener, for large parts of the game, Switzerland were the better side.
The Swiss looked the far more dangerous of the two sides, and Argentina didn’t get another shot on target for 90 minutes. It was Ndoye who made Switzerland’s control of the ball pay off, with the Nottingham Forest man combining with Rodriguez before scoring through the legs of Emiliano Martinez.
It was looking good for Switzerland until the sending off of Embolo. He went down dramatically under what seemed to be a challenge from Leandro Paredes, who picked up a booking. But under FIFA’s “mistaken identity” rule, the decision was reviewed and multiple angles showed a blatant dive from Embolo.
With no option but to issue a second yellow, Embolo received his marching orders in significant distress, knowing he now gave his team a near impossible task to hang on with depleted numbers against the defending champions.
They almost managed it, but Argentina used their numbers to work their way back into the game. What seemed to be heading towards an attritional period of extra time was then broken by a moment of individual brilliance by Julian Alvarez.
His 25 yard effort was a goal of the tournament contender, as his curling strike from the edge of the box spun inside the post to nestle in the top corner.
Although the game was effectively done at that point, Argentina scored a third to make absolutely sure of it. With ten man Switzerland stretched in desperation trying to find an equaliser, Martinez hit them on the counter and slotted a calm finish home to set up a blockbuster semi-final game against England on Wednesday.
With the final quarter final match played, the top four FIFA ranked teams in the world happen to be the final four in the competition, undoubtedly shaped by FIFA’s seeding the top four so they would not be able to face each other if they won their groups.
5 min read
Quarter Final: Argentina 3 - 1 Switzerland
Swiss go home empty-handed after needless 2nd yellow.
Argentina 3 - 1 Switzerland
Mac Allister (10'), Alvarez (112' ET), Martínez (120'+1) | Ndoye (67')
RED CARD: Embolo (72')
A moment of madness, or a moment of magic: it’s unclear which had the biggest impact on this tie.
With Breel Embolo sent off with a second yellow for simulation and the game poised at 1-1, Switzerland found themselves with a mountain to climb bigger than the Matterhorn. But Julian Alvarez’s incredible extra time strike was good enough to win any game of football.
Argentina opened the scoring in the 10th minute via Alexis Mac Allister, flicking home from a Lionel Messi corner. Despite that opener, for large parts of the game, Switzerland were the better side.
The Swiss looked the far more dangerous of the two sides, and Argentina didn’t get another shot on target for 90 minutes. It was Ndoye who made Switzerland’s control of the ball pay off, with the Nottingham Forest man combining with Rodriguez before scoring through the legs of Emiliano Martinez.
It was looking good for Switzerland until the sending off of Embolo. He went down dramatically under what seemed to be a challenge from Leandro Paredes, who picked up a booking. But under FIFA’s “mistaken identity” rule, the decision was reviewed and multiple angles showed a blatant dive from Embolo.
With no option but to issue a second yellow, Embolo received his marching orders in significant distress, knowing he now gave his team a near impossible task to hang on with depleted numbers against the defending champions.
They almost managed it, but Argentina used their numbers to work their way back into the game. What seemed to be heading towards an attritional period of extra time was then broken by a moment of individual brilliance by Julian Alvarez.
His 25 yard effort was a goal of the tournament contender, as his curling strike from the edge of the box spun inside the post to nestle in the top corner.
Although the game was effectively done at that point, Argentina scored a third to make absolutely sure of it. With ten man Switzerland stretched in desperation trying to find an equaliser, Martinez hit them on the counter and slotted a calm finish home to set up a blockbuster semi-final game against England on Wednesday.
With the final quarter final match played, the top four FIFA ranked teams in the world happen to be the final four in the competition, undoubtedly shaped by FIFA’s seeding the top four so they would not be able to face each other if they won their groups.
5 min read