Argentina through, but barely

Getting the job done — just about

The reigning world champions edged past Switzerland 3-1 after extra time on Saturday to book their place in the last four of the 2026 World Cup, according to Foot Mercato. The scoreline, eventually, looks comfortable enough. The performance, by most accounts, was anything but.

Argentina's players were candid afterwards — almost disarmingly so. "Luck is still on our side," was the tone coming out of the dressing room, per Foot Mercato's reporting. That's not the kind of post-match debrief you'd expect from a team cruising through a tournament. It's the kind of thing you say when you know, deep down, that the football gods owed you one.

The pattern that won't go away

This wasn't a one-off. Argentina have made a habit of grinding through matches at this tournament — unconvincing in stretches, nervy in others, relying on moments of individual quality or sheer collective will to see things over the line. Switzerland pushed them all the way to extra time, which tells its own story.

The question now isn't whether Argentina can win ugly. They've proved, repeatedly, that they can. The question is whether ugly wins have a ceiling — and whether that ceiling arrives in the semi-finals or the final.

Can luck carry a champion twice?

In 2022, Argentina needed penalties to beat the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, went to the wire against Croatia in the semis, and then survived one of the most dramatic finals in football history against France. Scaloni's side know how to suffer and still win. That is, genuinely, a skill.

But there's a difference between a team that grinds because it's tactically disciplined and a team that grinds because it's running on fumes and fortune. Right now, it's not entirely clear which version of Argentina this is. Their own players aren't sure either — and they said so.

The semi-final awaits. Somewhere, the next opponent is watching the tape and feeling quietly encouraged.