Argentina v Switzerland LIVE: Lionel Messi eyes World Cup semi-finals with two major decisions over starting line-up

Here’s Richard Jolly inside Kansas City Stadium:

Argentina XI: E Martinez; Molina, Romero, L Martinez, Tagliafico; Paredes; De Paul, Mac Allister, Fernandez; Messi, Alvarez.

Switzerland XI: Kobel; Zakaria, Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez; Freuler, Xhaka; Rieder, Sow, Ndoye; Embolo.

Yellow cards reset after the group stages and the quarter-finals, so a booking in the semi-finals, after a second clean slate, would not rule a player out of the final, regardless of what happened in their previous knockout games.

The suspension lasts just one game, so if a player were booked in the last 32 and last 16, they would miss a quarter-final; or if they were booked in the last 32/last 16 and the quarter-finals, they would miss a semi-final.

Gonzalo Montiel

Switzerland

Miro Muheim

Denis Zakaria

Granit Xhaka

You’d better BELIEVE he’s paying attention.

The fictional coach of soccer club AFC Richmond — or rather, Jason Sudeikis, who plays the title character on the Apple TV series — was hosting a watch party at CPKC Stadium near downtown Kansas City on Saturday night, when La Albiceleste were playing upstart Switzerland at Arrowhead Stadium in their quest for back-to-back championships.

The fourth season of the comedy-drama, which has been on hiatus since May 31, 2023, is due to premiere on Aug. 5.

“As much as we’ve loved football before we got started, I’ve grown to love it more as we got more immersed in the soccer culture,” said Sudeikis, who grew up in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kansas, and still has a deep affinity for the city. In fact, many of the scenes in the new season of “Ted Lasso” were shot around Kansas City.

That includes riverfront CPKC Stadium, the home of the National Women’s Soccer League club Kansas City Current. It’s the first of its size built specifically for a women’s professional club, and a fitting locale for several thousand people to attend a watch party, given that the new season of “Ted Lasso” will focus on the newly formed AFC Richmond women’s team.

It was a concept that the character Keeley Jones — played by the award-winning Juno Temple — subtly pitched at the end of the third season, when it was still unclear whether “Ted Lasso” would return for another run.

“It feels like a perfect moment to be talking about women’s football, and representing it — not that I play, obviously,” said Temple, who sported a teal Kansas City Current jersey Saturday. “So that’s first and foremost. I hope that’s something people really treasure. And I also hope people enjoy the journey each of the characters are going on.”

As Kansas City prepared to bring the curtain down on its World Cup on Saturday, local organisers were already reflecting on a month that put the Midwestern city on the global stage.

Kansas City has been host to six `games including a round-of-16 match and Saturday’s quarter-final between Argentina and Switzerland at Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the National Football League’s Kansas City Chiefs. But the tournament’s legacy will be measured as much by the supporters who adopted the city as their temporary home.

The city welcomed large followings from several nations, including Algeria, whose fans spilled across neighbouring Lawrence, Kansas, where the North African team made their base camp. A sea of Netherlands orange marched through downtown streets before turning ⁠parts of the city centre into a Dutch carnival.

Supporters from Argentina, Switzerland, Colombia and `others packed fan zones, bars and public squares over the past month, transforming the self-styled “Soccer Capital of America” into a meeting place for the world and giving residents a rare chance to experience the World Cup’s unique blend of sport, culture `and community on their own doorstep. “The last month has been very special for Kansas City to have a chance to be on ​the international ⁠stage,” Clark Hunt, honorary co-chair of the KC 2026 ‌board and chairman and CEO of the Chiefs, told reporters.

“Getting to see fans from all around the world coming to Kansas City to cheer on their teams … has been amazing.” Hunt said he hoped the city would have the chance to welcome the tournament back one day.

“If we have the opportunity to bid, we’ll do it,” he said. For KC 2026 ‌Chief Executive Pam Kramer, the tournament’s legacy will extend beyond football.

“We’ve proven we can handle the biggest sporting competition in the world,” she said, adding that the World Cup had showcased Kansas City as a destination for business, investment and new residents.

“It’s going to be a highlight of my career, indeed,” Xhaka said. “Every moment when you can do something that special, it feels different

“When you’re in the quarter-final, you don’t really care about the weather,” Xhaka said. “There are no excuses.”

“Now after 72 years, to be able to be here with Switzerland and to play against the reigning champions, it just makes me very proud.

“But I am not here to talk. I want to take the next steps, and we’re very close to the end. I am yearning for it, I am hungry and now we just need to show how much we really want it on the pitch.”

“It’s not going to be revenge. This ‌is a completely different match. Now we are in ⁠the quarter-final, and we want to win. This is our overarching aim.

“Regarding (Swiss) fans: keep dreaming. I am a person who always dreams, and dreams can come true. If we want to fulfil our dreams, you need to work, you need to sweat, you need to push your limits if you want to beat Argentina.”

Yakin suggested the best way to limit Messi’s influence was to deny him possession altogether. “When we have the ball, then he won’t be able to act as much,” he said. “We just try to play our game and not allow him to play the ball. “There are many solutions, and we try to find the best solution. Tomorrow, on the pitch, we will perform as a unit. We will try to play good passes, press high against an Argentinian team, the reigning champions.”

“We cannot influence what people say about us,” Xhaka ‌told reporters on Friday. “The only thing we can do is we can perform and show what we can do on the pitch. Nothing else matters.”