Lionel Messi’s scoring streak in World Cups stopped against Switzerland, but his influence on the game remains decisive. The Argentine captain gave a key assist for the first goal and reached a historic record.
Argentina won 3-1 and sealed their place in the semifinals, where they will face England in Atlanta. Messi, 39, shares the Golden Boot lead with Kylian Mbappé (eight goals each). Although Mbappé surpasses him in assists (3-2), Messi established the mark of 10 goal assists in his entire World Cup career.
The match in Kansas City began with a corner kick caused by Messi. His perfect cross was headed in by Alexis Mac Allister in the 10th minute to make it 1-0. Switzerland tied with a goal from Dan Ndoye in the 67th, forcing overtime. Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez sentenced in extra time.
Messi required medical attention after a blow near his right eye, but continued on the field. Before the match, Swiss coach Murat Yakin joked:
“This is a very surprising question… There are many solutions, and we will try to find the best solution.”
Although Switzerland contained the scorer, Messi had already left his mark in this World Cup: he scored a hat-trick against Algeria in the same stadium. He also missed penalties against Austria and Egypt, but was still decisive with assists and the tying goal against Egypt. Enzo Fernández gave the victory in added time to reach the quarterfinals.
