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Who: Argentina vs Switzerland
Content: 2026 FIFA World Cup – Quarterfinals
Location: Kansas City Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
When: Saturday 8pm (Sunday 1am GMT)
How to follow: Get everything ready on Al Jazeera Sports from 22:00 GMT before the live text commentary stream.
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After two grueling final tournaments that sparked more controversy than goals, Argentina enters the final phase of the World Cup.
The reigning champions outperformed most title contenders in the group stage thanks to Lionel Messi’s unstoppable attacking prowess.
However, an unconvincing stumbling run in the finals against a much lower-ranked opponent raised the question: “Can Argentina really retain the title?”
Next up for the two-time world champions is Switzerland, who have quietly made a remarkable return to the quarter-finals for the first time in 72 years.
The impressive duo of Bril Embolo and Johan Manzambi have won the hearts of Switzerland, and Saturday’s clash will be a chance for them to seek revenge for their loss to Argentina at the 2014 World Cup.
How did Argentina and Switzerland reach the quarterfinals?
Argentina continued to perform well in the first round, defeating Austria, Jordan and Algeria to take first place in Group J. In the Round of 32, they were pushed to the limit by Cape Verde, but they caught up 3-2 in extra time, and in a controversial last-16 match that sparked allegations of referee bias, they came back from a two-goal deficit to defeat Egypt 3-2.
Switzerland advanced to Group B with an unbeaten record, defeating Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina and drawing with Qatar. They defeated Algeria 2-0 in the round of 32 and Colombia 4-3 in a penalty shootout, advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time in 72 years.
‘Argentina are not invincible’: Swiss coach
What started as a confident campaign gradually turned into a shaky title defense for Argentina.
Cape Verde, appearing for the first time in the tournament (the smallest country to qualify for the World Cup finals), sounded the alarm for Argentina and forced the reigning champions to work harder for victory.
Argentina’s woes continued in the next game, when they went 2-0 up against Egypt before being reversed in stoppage time, with their opponents accusing the referee of favoring the title holders.
These performances have seen Argentina fall to fourth place in the championship standings, while also dropping them from first place to second place in the FIFA rankings.
This instilled in the Swiss camp the belief that defeating Argentina was not impossible.
“We are playing against the defending champions, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. At the same time, we know that Argentina are not invincible either,” said Switzerland coach Murat Yakin.
“It should be an interesting match from a tactical point of view.”
Will an aging Messi be able to meet the demands of the World Cup?
At 39, Messi, who has a longer career than most players, proves that age is just a number.
In his sixth and possibly final World Cup, Messi maintains a perfect record, scoring in all five of Argentina’s previous matches. His eight goals keep him second in the Golden Boot race, behind France’s Kylian Mbappé, who also has eight goals but has played one more game due to assists.
Although Messi is no longer at his athletic peak, he still carries the burden of scoring goals for his national team, with a goal and an assist that saved the team from early elimination in the round of 16.
In a rare show of emotion, he broke down in tears after the match and even said he was hopeless to continue his World Cup journey.
But Messi’s aging body is fighting to keep up with the grueling demands of tournament football, after Messi himself admitted fatigue after playing 120 minutes against Cape Verde and pushing hard against a resilient Egyptian opponent.
As the stakes get higher and the margin of error narrows, the question arises: “Will age finally catch up with him?”
Argentina vs Switzerland prediction
The Opta supercomputer gives Argentina a 57.1 percent chance of winning in the allotted time, while Switzerland has an 18.7 percent chance of winning.
The model estimated a 24.2% chance of a game going into overtime.
Argentina vs Switzerland: TV schedule, kickoff
Argentina: TyC Sports, TyC Sports Play (10pm Argentina Time) Switzerland: SRF, RSI, RTS (3am CET, Sunday) UK: ITV1, ITVX, STV (2am BST, Sunday) US: FOX, FOX One, Telemundo App, Telemundo Network, Peacock (9pm EDT)
To see the TV listings for your country, visit the FIFA TV listings schedule here.
Who will the winner face in the semifinals?
The winner of Argentina vs. Switzerland will face Norway or England in the semifinals in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Argentina vs Switzerland: head-to-head
The two countries have faced each other seven times so far, with Argentina winning five of them and two ending in a draw.
Argentina have also won both of their World Cup matches against Switzerland, winning 2-0 in the group match in 1966 and 1-0 in the last 16 in 2014, which was the last meeting between the two teams in the tournament.
Only three players remain from the 2014 tournament: Messi, Swiss captain Granit Xhaka and defender Ricardo Rodriguez.
Argentina vs Switzerland: Team news
No injuries were reported in Argentina’s camp, but Switzerland’s Manzambi and Jaquez are sidelined with knee and muscle injuries respectively, while Aebischer’s whereabouts are in doubt.
Switzerland’s 20-year-old breakout star Manzambi also missed the final match.
Argentina’s projected lineup
(4-1-3-2): Martinez (goalkeeper); Molina, Romero, Lisandro, Tagliafico. Paredes. De Paul, Enzo and Mac Allister. Messi, Lautaro
Switzerland’s expected lineup
(4-2-3-1): Kobel (goalie). Zakaria, Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez. Freuler, Xhaka. Vargas, Leader, Ndoye. Emboro
