Argentina 3-1 Switzerland: Julian Alvarez scores stunner to set up blockbuster World Cup semi-final vs England

Kansas City, Missouri — Julian Alvarez scored a long-distance goal in the 112th minute against Switzerland to win Argentine 3-1 and reach the World Cup semifinals on Saturday night.

Lautaro Martinez scored another goal just seconds before the end of extra time. It making the final score look more comfortable than the match really was.

Alexis Mac Allister also scored after a corner kick from Lionel Messi. Argentina will now play England in the semifinals on Wednesday in Atlanta. Earlier that day, England defeated Norway 2-1.

Messi did not score, ending his streak of scoring in nine straight World Cup games. However, he is still trying to win his second World Cup title.

A controversial decision changed the game in the second half.

Switzerland had just equalized through Dan Ndoye in the 67th minute when Leandro Paredes was given a yellow card for a tackle on Breel Embolo. Video replays showed that Embolo had fallen before Paredes made contact with him. Since Embolo had already received a yellow card earlier in the match, the referee changed the decision, and Embolo was sent off with a second yellow card. Switzerland had to play the rest of the match with only 10 players.

This was only the second time at the World Cup that a yellow card was changed using the “mistaken identity” rule. This rule lets the video assistant referee (VAR) step in if the referee gives a yellow or red card to the wrong player.