Lionel Messi's Argentina defeated Switzerland 3-1 in their FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-final at the Kansas City Stadium in Missouri on Saturday. The win meant that the defending champions will next take on England in the second semi-final in Atlanta on Wednesday.
In Saturday's earlier match, England rode on a brace from Jude Bellingham to beat Norway 2-1 after extra time.
Two-time champions France will lock horns against 2010 World Cup winners Spain in the first semi-final in Dallas on Tuesday. The Les Bleus defeated Morocco 3-0 in the quarter-final, whereas Spain got the better of Belgium in a 2-1 victory.
Lionel Messi has undoubtedly been Argentina's star player and is currently the joint leader in the Golden Boot standings with eight goals, the same as France forward Kylian Mbappe.
Messi has had a memorable FIFA World Cup campaign, having broken multiple records. The most notable one among all is that of the all-time goal-scorer in FIFA World Cups.
The 39-year-old surpassed Germany legend Miroslav Klose during Argentina's group stage match against Austria, in which Messi netted a brace. Messi currently leads the FIFA World Cup all-time goal-scorers' list with 21 goals, although he is just one goal ahead of Kylian Mbappe, who has 20 World Cup goals to his name.
The semi-finals will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday in Dallas and Atlanta respectively (15 July and 16 July in India).
While the winners of both the semi-finals will lock horns in Sunday's final at the New York New Jersey Stadium, the losers will face each other in the third-place playoff match at the Miami Stadium on Saturday.
How can fans in India watch the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals?
Fans in India can watch the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals on the Unite8 Sports TV channels as well as on DD Sports. Live streaming of the matches will be available on the Zee5 app and website.
