Argentina vs. Switzerland: La Seleccion remain "in the mix" for World Cup glory despite recent troubles

Ahead of Argentina's 2026 World Cup quarter-final with Switzerland, Sports Mole's Senior Reporter Oliver Thomas discusses the holders of the celebrated trophy.

Oliver Thomas, Senior Reporter: "Found a mode to win"

It's hard to accidental whether I'm much oregon little convinced by them astatine the moment. 

Despite each that went connected against Egypt and the crippled earlier that against Cape Verde, I don't deliberation my sentiment has changed that much. 

I inactive deliberation they are astir apt successful the premix to spell each the way. Any squad that comes from 2 goals down with conscionable 11 minutes of mean clip remaining to triumph 3-2 deserves immense credit. 

To amusement that combat until the precise end, particularly erstwhile you're feeling fatigued and the full of Argentina is watching, the unit indispensable person been enormous. 

But they dug heavy and recovered a mode to win, and it wasn't each down to Messi. It was a squad victory. 

Messi contributed, arsenic helium astir does each game, but it was a squad show that got them implicit the enactment and completed that singular turnaround. 

Enzo Fernandez scored a large headed winner, acknowledgment to that cleanable transverse from Lisandro Martinez close astatine the end. That winning extremity was interestingly the 3,000th extremity successful World Cup history. On the negatives, they didn't truly connection excessively overmuch successful the archetypal half. 

Egypt's goalkeeper was successful inspired form, but Argentina conscionable lacked that cutting borderline to statesman with. It was lone erstwhile they were trailing 2-0 that they truly came to life. 

Defensively, Argentina person looked vulnerable. Lisandro Martinez was easy beaten successful the aerial for Egypt's opening goal, and the backmost 4 were each implicit the spot for the 2nd goal. 

No 1 was tracking Zico, who was conscionable escaped to tally into the container and pat location Egypt's second. Against Cape Verde, they conceded doubly arsenic well, 1 of them being a worldy of a onslaught successful other time. 

In these knockout games, they've been obscurity adjacent arsenic coagulated astatine the backmost arsenic successful erstwhile matches. That volition beryllium a interest for Scaloni. 

On apical of that, Messi has present missed his 2nd punishment of this World Cup: the archetypal subordinate to ever miss 2 penalties successful a azygous World Cup excluding shoot-outs. 

Will Scaloni beryllium bold capable to instrumentality Messi disconnected punishment duties erstwhile he's chasing a aureate boot? I highly uncertainty it, but possibly that's thing successful the backmost of his mind. 

Argentina don't participate this quarter-final successful cleanable form, but successful knockout shot it's each astir winning by immoderate means necessary. They've achieved that truthful far. 

How agelong tin this spell connected for remains to beryllium seen, but they'll beryllium favourites to bushed Switzerland and they person my ballot to advancement to the semi-finals.