Julián Álvarez scored a spectacular extra-time winner as defending champions Argentina national football team defeated Switzerland national football team 3-1 on Saturday to book a place in the FIFA World Cup semifinals.

Álvarez struck from long range in the 112th minute to finally break the deadlock before Lautaro Martínez added a late goal seconds before the final whistle, giving Argentina a scoreline that was far more comfortable than the tightly contested match suggested.

Earlier, Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring by converting a corner delivered by captain Lionel Messi.

The victory sends Argentina into a semifinal clash against England national football team, which advanced after defeating Norway 2-1 earlier in the day.

Although Messi’s nine-match World Cup scoring streak came to an end, the Argentine captain remains on course in his pursuit of a second World Cup title.

The match took a controversial turn midway through the second half after Switzerland equalized through Dan Ndoye in the 67th minute.

Moments later, Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes was initially shown a yellow card following a challenge involving Swiss forward Breel Embolo.

A video review determined Embolo had fallen before contact was made. Officials subsequently applied FIFA’s “mistaken identity” protocol, overturning the caution against Paredes.

Because Embolo had already received a yellow card earlier in the match, the booking was instead applied to him, resulting in his dismissal and leaving Switzerland to play the remainder of the contest with 10 men.

The incident marked only the second time during the tournament that the mistaken identity protocol had been used to reverse a disciplinary decision, allowing the video assistant referee to correct a case in which the wrong player had been cautioned.

Argentina ultimately capitalized on its numerical advantage in extra time, with Álvarez’s decisive strike and Martínez’s late finish sealing another dramatic victory for the defending champions.