After eliminating Colombia and advancing to the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup, Murat Yakin stated that his team can pull off an upset against the Albiceleste, although he also highlighted the hierarchy of the world champion
Switzerland is already focused on the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup and, after knocking out Colombia on penalties, began to anticipate the clash with the Argentine National Team. In this context, coach Murat Yakindid not hide his excitement ahead of the match against the reigning world champion and assured that his team is ready to compete on equal terms.
"Now we will play against the reigning champion.This is a unique opportunity for us. However, it has been shown that Argentina is not invincible", stated the Swiss coach at a press conference, referring to the hard-fought victories of Lionel Scaloni’s team against Cape Verde in the round of 16 and Egyptin the round of 16.
Yakin trusts his team to strike against Argentina
Far from being intimidated by the opponent, Yakin emphasized that the European team arrives with the hope of continuing to make history. "I believe we have worked very hard and now we have this opportunity. It will be a very interesting match. From a tactical point of view, we will try to compete against the reigning champion. And that will be incredible", he asserted.
The coach, who has been leading Switzerland since 2021, also highlighted the growth of his squad and the confidence that the qualification for the quarterfinals has given him, an instance that the Swiss team will contest for the fourth time in its history. "It’s a dream. Argentina is waiting for us. We have the qualities on the field, and I believe that was evident today. The maturity of our players, the quality of the players... I think we can achieve great things with this team", he expressed.
Not everyone in the squad, however, maintained the same defiant tone. Ricardo Rodríguez, one of the leaders of the Swiss team, praised the Albiceleste and, especially, Lionel Messi. "Argentina is a great team. They have strong players and a good coach. We know how they play. And I can’t say anything more because they have Messi, the best", he noted.
Ricardo Rodríguez praised the National Team and Messi
Switzerland arrives at the match after a solid campaign. They topped Group B above the host Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Qatar, then they won comfortably against Algeria in the round of 16 and recently eliminated Colombia in a dramatic penalty shootout to reach the last eight of the tournament. Now they will seek to break a historical barrier: they have never managed to surpass the quarterfinal stage in a World Cup.
On the other side will be an Argentina that comes off an epic comeback against Egypt and will try to continue in the race to defend the title won in Qatar 2022. The clash, scheduled for Saturday, July 11 at 22:00 (Argentina time) at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, will pit two teams with different realities against each other, but with the same ambition to advance to the semifinals of the World Cup.
