In June 2016, Lionel Messi declared he would stop playing with Argentina’s national team. Fast forward to today, and Messi has helped his team reach the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup quarterfinals. With one World Cup title under his belt and 16 World Cup goals, Messi aims to make Argentina the first repeat men’s World Cup champion since Brazil achieved this feat in 1958 and 1962.
Messi’s exceptional performances have been a significant factor, but Argentina’s journey has also been facilitated by a favorable draw. Alexis Martin-Tamayo, known as MisterChip, highlighted this advantage. Argentina’s path to the semifinals included matches against teams with varying FIFA rankings: Algeria (28th), Austria (24th), Jordan (63rd), Cape Verde (67th), Egypt (29th), and Switzerland (19th). He noted that the average ranking of these opponents was 38th, the highest of any team’s path to a World Cup semifinal in history.
Argentina will play against Switzerland in the quarterfinals in Kansas City on Saturday, July 11.
Argentina advanced through the group stage without much trouble, but the knockout stage posed significant challenges. Despite Cape Verde and Egypt’s lower FIFA rankings, they proved to be formidable opponents. In the Round of 32, Cape Verde pushed Argentina to extra time in what became one of the most thrilling matches. Similarly, in the Round of 16, Egypt led 2-0 deep into the second half. However, Argentina pulled off a remarkable comeback with goals from Cristian Romero in the 79th minute, Messi in the 83rd minute, and Enzo Fernandez during stoppage time.
The upcoming match against Switzerland promises to be unpredictable, given Argentina’s recent performances.
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