Live coverage and updates from our text commentary stream as Messi’s Argentina face Switzerland in the quarterfinals.
Keep up to date: Follow Al Jazeera Sport on our website and on X for the latest news, features and live events from around the globe.
At 39, when most players’ careers are long behind them, Messi is proving that age is just a number.
In his sixth and possibly last World Cup, Messi has maintained a perfect record, scoring in each of Argentina’s five matches so far. His eight goals keep him second in the Golden Boot race, only behind France’s Kylian Mbappe, who has also scored eight goals but has played a game more, on account of assists.
Although no longer at his athletic peak, Messi is still very much carrying the burden of the goal-scoring duties for his national team – and rescued them from early elimination in the round of 16 with a goal and assist.
In a rare show of emotion, he even broke down after that game, saying he was desperate for his World Cup journey to continue.
But after his own admission of fatigue after playing 120 minutes against Cape Verde and pushing hard against a resilient Egypt, Messi’s ageing body is fighting to keep up with the gruelling demands of tournament football.
As the stakes get higher and the margins for error reduce, it begs the question: Will age finally catch up with him?
What started out as a confident campaign has slowly turned into a shaky title defence for Argentina.
Tournament debutants Cape Verde – the smallest nation to play in the World Cup knockouts – gave Argentina a wake-up call, forcing the reigning champions to dig deep for victory.
The Argentinian suffering continued in the next game, where they trailed 2-0 against Egypt before turning it around in stoppage time – in a contest where the opposition accused the referee of favouring the title holders.
These performances have pushed Argentina down to fourth in the pecking order of the favourites, while they’ve also slipped from the top spot to number two in the FIFA rankings.
It has instilled the belief in the Swiss camp that beating Argentina is not out of reach.
“We’re up against the defending champions, which is a unique opportunity. At the same time, we’ve realised that Argentina are not invincible,” Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said.
“It should be an interesting match from a tactical point of view.”
The 2026 World Cup has a prize pool of $871m, the biggest in football history. How much is every country getting, and where does the money come from?
Al Jazeera’s Yasmeen Eltahan explains.
England and Norway were level at 1-1 at half-time. The winner will face Argentina or Switzerland in the semifinal.
Click here to join our live coverage of that one.
Tuesday’s Round of 16 FIFA World Cup match between Egypt and Argentina in Atlanta was perhaps both the tournament’s most controversial game and its most politically consequential.
After going 1-0 up against the defending champions, Egypt had a second goal controversially disallowed and its request denied for a video review (VAR) of an Argentina goal.
Fans and experts complained that VAR was employed unevenly and that Egypt’s 3-2 defeat was unjust.
Egyptian manager Hossam Hassan said the game was “not fair”, suggesting that FIFA wanted Argentina and its global superstar, Lionel Messi, to advance.
The Egyptian Football Association filed a formal complaint on Wednesday.
Lost in the game’s controversial ending is perhaps a much bigger story — the way in which the Egypt-Argentina game has turned into the latest marker of the Palestinian struggle.
Increasingly, positions on Israel and Palestine are seen as a gauge of political and moral integrity, while the Palestinian cause has emerged as a visible political dividing line within sport.
Nowhere in recent sporting memory has this been clearer than the Egypt-Argentina match.
Catch the latest match highlights from the FIFA World Cup 2026 in North America:
The winner of Argentina and Switzerland’s match with play England or Norway in the semifinals of FIFA World Cup 2026.
The match between the English and the Norwegians is approaching half-time, and you can click here to join our live coverage of that one.
Hello, welcome and thanks for joining Al Jazeera’s live coverage of Argentina against Switzerland in the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup.
Argentina are the defending champions, following their defeat of France in the final at Qatar 2022, but have had a bumpy ride to this stage.
The Swiss are making their first quarterfinal appearance in 72 years.
Either England or Norway await the winner in the semifinals.
I’m Kevin Hand, and I’ll bring you all the pre-match build-up, analysis and photo coverage of the game.
Rohan Sharma will provide the team news as soon as the lineups are announced and will take you through the minute-by-minute live commentary.
Live coverage and text updates as England play Norway in a quarterfinal clash in Miami.
Latest match highlights, reaction and previews from the FIFA World Cup 2026 in North America.
South Africa and Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder died after featuring in his nation’s run to the World Cup round of 32.
Football fans around the world are only now finding out what Palestinians have long known.
Follow Al Jazeera English:
