The corner kick came in the 10th minute at Arrowhead Stadium. Alexis Mac Allister converted it, and Argentina had its first goal against Switzerland in the World Cup quarterfinal. The assist belonged to Lionel Messi, and it was his 10th in the tournament’s history.
No one had reached that number before. Messi now sits first on the all-time World Cup assists chart, ahead of Diego Maradona with 8. Pierre Littbarski of Germany and Grzegorz Lato of Poland share third place with 7 each.
The road to the semifinal
Argentina, the defending champions, got past Cape Verde in extra time after a tense match. Against Egypt they came back from 2-0 down. The win over Switzerland sent them into a semifinal against England in Atlanta.
The team is trying to become the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to hold on to the trophy. A win would be Argentina’s fourth World Cup title.
The man behind the record
Messi captains Inter Miami of Major League Soccer and played for Argentina’s national team for 21 years. He has won eight Ballons d’Or and six European Golden Shoes, and FIFA has named him the world’s best player eight times. The Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award went to him in 2020 and 2023, and the IFFHS named him the All Time Men’s World Best Player in 2025.
