​KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lionel Messi saw his World Cup scoring streak halted by Switzerland on Saturday night, yet the man who shares the Golden Boot race lead with France’s Kylian Mbappé still managed to leave his mark with an assist as Argentina defeated Switzerland 3-1. The key moment came barely 10 minutes into the match when Messi, after absorbing a blow near his right eye that required some attention from a trainer in the second half, helped earn a corner with his deft footwork. From that corner, he delivered a perfect ball into the box, and Alexis Mac Allister rose to head home the opening goal for a 1-0 Argentina lead.
Switzerland leveled in the 67th minute and the contest moved into extra time, but Argentina’s Julian Alvarez struck in the 112th minute with a rocket into the upper corner, and Lautaro Martinez added an extra insurance goal to seal the defending champions’ victory. Argentina will now face England in the semifinals on Wednesday in Atlanta.
Before the match, Swiss coach Murat Yakin faced questions about how to stop Messi, who had found the back of the net in his previous nine World Cup appearances and held the tournament record with 21 career goals. “This is a very surprising question,” Yakin replied with a hint of humor. “There are many solutions, and we will try to find the best one. We can talk a lot about it, but in the end it has to translate onto the pitch, and we do have our solutions.” In truth, Switzerland managed to contain the dynamic scorer more effectively than many had expected.
Messi’s World Cup campaign began in the same stadium a little over three weeks earlier, when he netted a hat trick for his first ever World Cup treble, helping Argentina to a 3-0 victory over Algeria. He went on to tally eight goals as Argentina advanced to the knockout rounds. But the path hasn’t always been smooth for him at this tournament. He missed penalty kicks against Austria and Egypt, and the second miss could have cost Argentina dearly as they fell behind 2-0 in one game. Yet Messi was also the catalyst for the comeback in another match, assisting Cristian Romero’s header in the 79th minute and then scoring four minutes later to equalize against Egypt, with Enzo Fernandez eventually delivering the stoppage-time winner to push Argentina forward.
Argentina’s coach Lionel Scaloni lauded Messi’s enduring prowess, saying, “He’s like a machine.” Scaloni added that some people, perhaps unfamiliar with him, might doubt whether he can still meet the challenge at 39, but he insisted that as long as Messi wants to be the best, he will continue to perform at the highest level. If Messi’s performance remains as persistent as his will to compete, Argentina’s bid for another World Cup title could well hinge on his continued excellence in the knockout rounds.