The 2026 World Cup quarterfinal matchups are now set, and one of them will feature an intriguing clash between Argentina and Switzerland. Led by Lionel Messi, La Albiceleste are no stranger to facing the Swiss on soccer’s biggest stage, holding the upper hand in their World Cup history.
Switzerland have never beaten Argentina in their history. In fact, the two sides have faced each other twice at the World Cup, with the Swiss losing both encounters—first at the 1966 World Cup in England and then again at the 2014 tournament in Brazil.
After advancing through their respective brackets, the two teams will once again face off in this prestigious tournament. The match will be played in Kansas City on Saturday, July 11, at 9:00 p.m. ET, with a sellout crowd expected to pack the stadium.
The most recent World Cup meeting
Argentina finished as runners-up at the 2014 World Cup, led by a sensational Lionel Messi, before falling to Germany in the final. The road to that stage was anything but easy, with Switzerland standing as one of La Albiceleste‘s first obstacles in the knockout rounds.
Angel di Maria of Argentina celebrates scoring his team’s first goal in extra time.
In a fiercely contested match, Argentina did not break the deadlock until the 118th minute of extra time. A clinical finish from Angel Di Maria finally broke Switzerland‘s resistance, sending his team through to the quarterfinals.
The first World Cup meeting between Argentina and Switzerland
Argentina and Switzerland’s first official World Cup meeting came in 1966. At that tournament in England, the two nations faced off in the group stage, with the South Americans emerging victorious.
The final score was 2-0, thanks to goals from Luis Artime and Ermindo Onega. Argentina finally reached the quarterfinals, with this not being one of their worst eliminations in World Cup history.
How Argentina and Switzerland reached this stage
It seemed as though Argentina’s fate was sealed. Trailing 0-2 with just over 10 minutes remaining, it looked like Egypt had the match under control. However, a crucial goal from Messi leveled the score late on, while Enzo Fernandez scored the final 3-2 winner in the dying moments of the match.
The stands erupted with the fans’ chants, while attention quickly turned to the upcoming match. There, Switzerland had to work harder than expected to take Colombia to a penalty shootout. After a goalless 0-0 draw, Murat Yakin’s team prevailed on penalties, securing the final ticket to the quarterfinals.
