Julian to Argentina's Alvarez-cue

25/26ths of the World Cup

 

 

The last time Argentina were defending champions at a World Cup, they failed to make the playoffs, only to return and reclaim the championship at the following World Cup. Their opponents Switzerland have only been to the Quarterfinals 3 previous times in their history. The last was in 1954 when they hosted, and were eliminated by Austria. It was the defending champions who would strike quickly in the 10th minute when Alexis Mac Allister would put Argentina up 1-0. The Champions would take the lead into halftime. The second 45 minutes would tell a striking story. in the 67th minute Dan Ndoye would tie the match for Switzerland. Just 5 minutes later Argentina's Leandro Paredes would see a yellow card for a foul on Breel Embolo. VAR would intervene and lead referee João Pinheiro changing his decision due to a simulation by Embolo. The rule states that because Leandro was shown a yellow card, that card would be rescinded, and Embolo would be shown a yellow card. If a card was never shown, then Switzerland would earn a free kick without VAR intervention. Due to the initial yellow card being shown to Argentina's player, Embolo, who was already on one yellow card, received a second and was sent off. Switzerland would play the rest of the match down one man. Still, they pressed on and defended well to take the match to extra time. The first 15 minutes proved fruitless, as neither side could find the back of the netting. The second 15 minutes proved too much for an out-manned Swiss side. in the 112th minute Julian Alvarez would score to put Argentina ahead. 9 minutes later, in the 1st minute of the final stoppage time in the match, Lautaro Martinez would score a 3rd goal and shut the door on Switzerland's World Cup for good. Switzerland went farther in this tournament than many people thought they would, outlasting the likes of Brazil, Colombia, and the Netherlands. Argentina continue on their path to defend their 2022 World Cup Championship and will face England on Wednesday in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

 

 

Today's top performer picked both England and Argentina to advance to the Semifinals. He also earned 9 Oracle points on the day. Moving back into 2nd place with 169 points, congratulations to Scriptor!

 

Only four teams remain with a chance to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The matches pause to give each team time to rest before resuming on Tuesday. France and Spain will battle for the first slot in the Championship match at 3:00pm from Dallas, Texas. Wednesday the winner of that match will find out who their opponent will be as England and Argentina meet for the first time since Lionel Messi has suited up for Argentina at 3:00pm from Atlanta, Georgia. Five contestants in the 2026 TSzAL World Cup have their Champions still alive. Two competitors have 3 of their final 4 still alive in the tournament. An unprecedented 3 players have all 4 of their Semifinalists ready to compete. MalumSigma sits first and has all his hopes riding on Argentina's ability to repeat as Champions. Scriptor maintains a slim 2 point lead on Historicus as both look for Spain to raise the trophy once again. Oracle points will be a huge factor in separating these two as they have picked the exact same teams to finish 1 through 4. Musicus leads Praeceptor by 13 points as they both picked France to win it all. They have different teams finishing 2nd through 4th, and each lost out on 1 of those finishers landing where predicted. Just 4 matches remain in the 2026 World Cup, and we could see the tightest finish in TSzAL history. Best of Luck to ALL!