There was an explosion of excitement from Buenos Aires to Bangladesh — Saturday night or Sunday morning, depending on where you were. Argentina’s dream of a “repeat” was still alive when Julian Alvarez’s curler inside extra time beat an outstretched Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel to find the far corner. Another was added by Lautaro Martinez in stoppage time and the 3-1 victory set up a fierce semifinal against England that would have history.But as Germany’s Three Lions coach, Thomas Tuchel, said he was “lucky to win” against Norway, the Argentines, too, will know they got away with it.Argentina had taken the lead after 10 minutes, thanks to Alexis MacAllister’s header from Messi’s corner, but the second half started differently. The Swiss began to dominate the midfield as Argentina’s defense retreated. And when Dan Ndoye’s equaliser, the culmination of a successful run, came in the 67th minute, Argentina’s fans were worried.In their last two matches against Cabo Verde and Egypt, the three champions were late, but did not finish second in the game. But in Dallas, for 20 minutes of the second half, the defense looked like they were chasing shadows against a well-drilled European team.It continued until the time of Embolo’s brain from Switzerland in the 72nd minute that they all brought to the European team, playing the first quarter of the World Cup since 1954. Already on the yellow, Embolo threw himself down unnecessarily, trying to remove the card of Leandro Paredes, but VAR recognized the comparison that caused him to be sent off.They were disappointed, the Swiss were surprised, social media was confused, but it could not be opposed by the letter of the law. It was a bit of a guess for Embolo and the Portuguese referee was well within his rights to give him the marching orders.The game changed completely after that. For the Swiss, it was a matter of survival for about 50 minutes with 10 men, when they defended with two lines of four. Argentina attacked well, but this part of the game was not encouraging from their perspective.The passing was slow, the crosses thoughtless, and even Leo Messi, according to his strong qualities, had a break. He missed one sitter that was ruled offside but would have been ruled out by VAR, while another on the right after his shoulders fell he missed the mark by a whisker. Furthermore, there was not much to write home about like Manuel Akanji & Co. he fended off Argentina’s attack with ease.But then, it always helps when there’s a magic dust of talent on your hands. There is a reason why a bidding war is taking place between Europe’s top clubs led by FC Barcelona Alvarez, who is expected to replace Polish striker Robert Lewandowski for the Catalan giants after the World Cup.A clean strike, the 26-year-old combined power and precision as Trionda whistled through the evening air and hit the back of Kobel’s net. Although it was the superstar’s first World Cup, the goal will find its place in Argentine legends if the Albiceleste make history next Sunday.But for now, what is standing in the way is England, a small sector that showed light in the late 1980s and early 90s. In Jude Bellingham, he has the image of Paul Gascoigne who can control players and close open doors. And it has been suggested that no inch will be given to Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday. There is also the small matter of the 40-year-old’s injuries and the English would like to believe that returning Messi to Argentina will finally put to rest the ghosts of the ‘Hand of God’ that have haunted them for generations.
