Alvarez Wonder Goal! Defending Champions Argentina in World Cup Semi-Finals

MacAllister with the early lead

The Swiss did not hold back and started the match bravely. The first scoring opportunity belonged to Murat Yakin's team (6').

At the other end, MacAllister had the first attempt, but it was deflected (9').

Shortly after, the "Albiceleste" celebrated taking the lead. Superstar Lionel Messi delivered a corner into the box, and the 1.76-meter tall MacAllister headed it in to make it 1-0 (10').

Argentina sits back

Subsequently, a clear pattern emerged: Argentina sat back and left possession to the Swiss. However, the team, led by captain Granit Xhaka, struggled to find gaps.

A long-range shot from Djibril Sow posed no problems for Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez (20'). Around ten minutes later, "Dibu" decisively disrupted striker Embolo (32').

Ndoye in the spotlight

In the second half, Switzerland continued to dictate play. Ndoye had the equalizer at his feet, but Lisandro Martinez tackled in the last moment (50'). The flag then went up. In the build-up, assist-provider Embolo was offside, so a goal would not have counted.

Ndoye remained in the spotlight. Emiliano Martinez saved a header attempt from the Nottingham attacker (65'). "Dibu" was also alert to a Xhaka long-range shot (66').

In the 67th minute, he finally had to concede. This time, Ndoye was successful. After a one-two pass with Ricardo Rodriguez, he scored from a tight angle through Emiliano Martinez's legs to equalize at 1-1 (67').

test — Breel Embolo sieht Rot.
Foto: ©IMAGO / STEINSIEK.CH

The referee reviewed the scene on the monitor and decided to rescind the yellow card against Paredes and show it to Embolo. The Swiss striker had already been booked shortly before half-time and now had to leave the field with a yellow-red card (72'). The Swiss were shocked, and Embolo dejectedly disappeared into the catacombs.

Alvarez wonder goal sends Argentina to the semi-finals

In the final phase, Argentina sought to avoid extra time. MacAllister headed wide (89'). Messi got into a shooting position and missed narrowly with his right foot (90'+2).

Just before the end, Gregor Kobel prevented a decisive goal with a save from Lisandro Martinez's bicycle kick (90'+9). It went into extra time, where Argentina exerted more pressure from the start.

The first attempts belonged to Nicolas Gonzalez, whose effort was blocked (91'), and Thiago Almada (93'). The latter then only hit the side netting (95'). Subsequently, the match resembled a handball game with the Swiss in a defensive role.

In the second half of extra time, Argentina finally broke the deadlock – and how. Julian Alvarez wonderfully curled the ball from outside the box into the top right corner (112'). Lautaro Martinez then sealed the win with his goal to make it 3-1 (120'+1).