Messi Does NOT End his World Cup Career in Kansas City; Argentina Down Switzerland Late

What a journey it’s been. Kansas City successfully hosted six 2026 FIFA World Cup games in one of the best tournaments in recent memory. And what a way to go out. Lionel Messi played his fourth game in Kansas City in the last three years — two with Inter Miami and two with Argentina — and he never disappointed with at least one goal contribution in each match.

Speaking of Messi, he of course was in the starting lineup since he conserves energy by walking until he explodes each game. If you just put a camera on him, it’s wild how much action happens around him when he makes so little movement at times.

On the other side of the pitch was the National Team of Sporting Kansas City’s head coach, Rapha Wicky, Switzerland.

The game started with Switzerland keeping Argentina on the back foot. They kept them under steady pressure for the first five to eight minutes, but then it only takes a moment for the defending World Champions to turn things around.

Argentina earned a corner. The first just led to a second corner. But then, Argentina made them pay. Messi found the head of Alexis Mac Allister who redirected it to the far corner to make it 1-0!

From there, the game got pretty chippy. Bodies were consistently hitting the ground, whether the ref was blowing his whistle or not.

As the game settled, Switzerland earned a half chance with a turnover in the midfield. Djibril Sow turned near the top of the box and blasted a shot, but it went straight to Emiliano Martinez. That would be the last significant action before the hydration break. Switzerland trailed 1-0 to Argentina.

Out of the break, neither team could progress very far up the field and maintain possession. Switzerland stole the ball outside the box but immediately turned it over and didn’t get a shot off in what should have been a golden opportunity. A minute later in the 32nd minute, it looked like they might break through when a ball was slipped through to Breel Embolo by Dan Ndoye. But Embolo was bodied well by the defender, and E. Martinez came out and made a sliding tackle to protect his goal!

After a lot of choppy play, fouls, and throw ins (including the ref flipping a throw to the Swiss because Argentina took too long), we finally got some action.

Embolo dropped into the midfield to receive a pass and made a bad turnover to put Argentina on the counter. He hustled to try and win the ball back, but his deflection nearly fell to Argentina in the box before it was headed back to Gregor Kobel to end the chance. On the other end, Switzerland earned a foul just left of the 18-yard-box but flubbed their chance and it ended in an Argentine goal kick.

It didn’t take long for Embolo’s enthusiastic play to get him the game’s first yellow card. He came flying back on a challenge and crashed into Leandro Paredes’ leg on a late challenge and nearly started a fight. The ref pulled out the card to try and calm things down.

That would be the last notable action before the half with Argentina leading 1-0 at the break.

Argentina had the first big chance of the half. The ball found Messi, who slipped it through into the attack but instead of a cross that would have almost certainly led to a goal, a poor shot was taken, and it led to a goal kick.

At the other end of the pitch Switzerland almost immediately scored but a last second intervention (and an offside flag), made sure that wasn’t the case. In the 60th minute, Switzerland brought an attack up the left side of the pitch and cross in a ball. Embolo forced a diving save from Martinez to keep the Argentines ahead.

Five minutes later, with the Swiss maintaining extended possession, they again played the ball out wide left and crossed into the box to once again test Martinez who parried the shot away to his left. A few passes later, Granit Xhaka put his laces through a ball outside the box that Martinez spilled the save but recovered before anyone from Switzerland could get on the ball.

Eventually, the Swiss broke through! Another attack, also up the left, saw a give and go between Ndoye and Ricardo Rodriguez. The ball was weighted perfectly to Ndoye to placed it into the far netting leveling the game at one all!

Then things got weird. Embolo appeared to draw a foul that led to Paredes getting a yellow card. But a new rule, that allows a mistaken identity yellow to be reversed (like we saw with Tim Ream and Miguel Almiron in the USMNT opener), showed that Embolo flopped. After VAR intervened, he got a second yellow and was sent off!

It will be controversial and people will scream “conspiracy,” but it’s the right call. It was 100 percent a dive. Embolo knows he messed up and his reaction was crushing to watch.

In the 85th minute, it looked like Messi was sure to score. He was played a perfectly chipped ball over the top, but Kobel made a massive save! The flag was raised, but on replay, Messi was certainly onside. Likely VAR would have overturned it, had the GOAT found the back of the net.

Four minutes later, an overcooked cross was rescued from going out for a goal kick by Nicolas Gonalez on a sliding play. He crossed it first time and found the head of Mac Allister who put it out for a goal kick. There was a hint of a deflection, but the ref wasn’t having it.

In the second minute of stoppage time, Messi magic almost seemed certain. After sustained possession, he received the ball just outside the box and chopped back to his less favored right foot and whizzed a shot just wide of the far post!

In the 9th minute of stoppage time Argentina looked to end it, but Kobel again came up huge! Off a corner kick, a ball was sent through on a side volley by Lisandro Martinez and Lautaro Martinez tried a backheel, but Kobel made the save. 30 more minutes of football!

The first minute of extra time saw Argentina keeping their foot on the gas. Multiple shots were deflected in the box before it fell to Gonzalez who forced another save for a corner kick. A mere two minutes later, a nice give and go saw Thiago Almada with a chance inside the box but he didn’t get enough on it and the game remained level.

Another two minutes of Argentina possession again sees Almada with a chance. He skimmed his shot off the outside of the post and rippled the side netting and a huge portion of the stadium that it was in. But alas, we play on tied at 1-1. Determined to be involved constantly, the former Atlanta United midfielder Almada found himself in the book for a tackle that would make the Kansas City Chiefs happy in Arrowhead. A much slopier tackle from Lautaro found himself also picking up a yellow card for a reckless challenge.

From there, we saw a rare Switzerland attack as the 10-man Swiss side moved quickly up the left-hand side of the attack before laying a ball off to Xhaka who drilled a shot, but it drifted over the bar.

Late on in the first half of extra time, Messi drew a foul about 30-yards from goal on a late challenge by Zeki Amdouni. The stadium felt ready to see a free kick goal, but Messi hit it into the wall and the chance was lost. A late corner would lead to nothing, and the first half of extra time ended.

The first two minutes of the second extra time period actually found the 10-man Switzerland size keeping Argentina pushed back. Mac Allister committed a foul and a dangerous set piece saw a ball come through the box but ultimately be cleared out by Lautaro Martinez, ending the danger.

The 112th minute found Messi, who always finds space, dribbling across the box and blast a shot that was parried aside by Kobel but Argentina maintained possession. Then they broke through! Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez placed his shot in the upper 90 and the stadium (and weirdly the press box), went bananas! 2-1 Argentina!

Switzerland continually threw numbers into the attack trying to make something happen. Unfortunately for them, it left them susceptible to a counterattack. In the first minute of four (!!) minutes of added time, Argentina hit on the counter. Kobel made a massive save, but the numbers were overwhelming and Lautaro Martinez put the finishing touches on the game! 3-1 Argentina!

And that is how it would end. Both for the game and Kansas City’s World Cup journey. Messi’s last game was not played in Arrowhead Kansas City Stadium. Instead, Argentina move on to the semifinals to play England with the winner meeting the winner of France and Spain for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.