{"id":101332,"date":"2026-07-10T20:14:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T20:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/101332\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T20:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T20:14:10","slug":"argentina-faces-off-with-switzerland-who-will-come-out-on-top","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/101332\/","title":{"rendered":"Argentina faces off with Switzerland. Who will come out on top?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Argentina and Switzerland meet on Saturday night (9 p.m. EDT) in the World Cup quarterfinals following grueling games in which both needed extra time and beyond to advance. Factor in that they feature the two oldest squads remaining based on playing time, and the match\u2019s outcome could be decided by skill as much as by longevity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s focus on the skill. Argentina features a unique offensive game plan, by sitting far back and inviting its opponent to get out of its low block<\/a> and run into Argentina\u2019s attack.<\/p>\n

The graphic below shows the compactness of Argentina\u2019s passing compared to Switzerland\u2019s, which more resembles the rest of the tournament field.<\/p>\n

\"\"The graphic above shows the compactness of Argentina\u2019s passing compared to Switzerland\u2019s, which more resembles the rest of the tournament field. Courtesy of NetSI Sport<\/p>\n

Argentina and Switzerland preview: Messi vs. a stout Swiss defense\"\"\"\"\/<\/p>\n

This offensive approach has left Argentina vulnerable on the back end. Argentina has allowed five goals in its past three matches. But the strategy underscores Argentina\u2019s confidence that it can handle pressure in tight quarters, win back the ball quickly if it\u2019s lost, and advance the attack by catching the opponent out of its defensive formation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a good bet when you have an all-world player like Lionel Messi on your squad.<\/p>\n

Messi\u2019s brilliance isn\u2019t just visible; the data proves he\u2019s dynamic, diverse and unmatched in attack. He\u2019s the best in the World Cup at handling the ball under pressure \u2014 averaging over eight receptions with defenders in close proximity per 90 minutes, while retaining the ball 90% of the time in those tight situations. He\u2019s also tied for the lead for most goals (8), and he\u2019s near the top in expected assists and shot-creating actions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Switzerland has featured a stout defense in the World Cup \u2014 having never trailed in any match and only allowed three goals through five games. Part of the reason for Switzerland\u2019s defense is strong goalkeeping.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Switzerland\u2019s Gregor Kobel has conceded 0.9 fewer goals than his post-shot xG suggests he should have \u2014 meaning he\u2019s outperforming the quality of shots he\u2019s faced. This is the best of any goalkeeper left in the tournament. By contrast, Argentina\u2019s Emiliano Martinez has conceded 2.5 more goals than expected, per the same metric. Post-shot xG measures how likely a shot was to score once it\u2019s already on target.<\/p>\n

\"\"The graphic above shows the top goalkeepers remaining in the World Cup, ranked by goals conceded vs. post-shot xG. Courtesy of NetSI Sport<\/p>\n

Argentina and Switzerland preview: Messi vs. a stout Swiss defense\"\"\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Kobel emerged a hero in Switzerland\u2019s win over Colombia in the Round of 16, making a flying save in the first half and a diving save on a penalty kick.<\/p>\n

Data analysis provided by Brennan Klein, director for Northeastern University\u2019s NetSI Sport research group.<\/p>\n

Greg St. Martin is a news reporter at Northeastern Global News. Email him at g.stmartin@northeastern.edu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Argentina and Switzerland meet on Saturday night (9 p.m. EDT) in the World Cup quarterfinals following grueling games…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101333,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[49225,41,17,13703,20910],"class_list":["post-101332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-switzerland","tag-messi","tag-swiss","tag-switzerland","tag-world-cup","tag-world-cup-2026"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116897517914933088","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}