Kansas City, July 12 (IANS) Argentina’s legendary footballer Lionel Messi hailed his team’s resilience and fighting spirit after the defending champions survived a major scare against Switzerland to book their spot in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final for the second consecutive time.

FIFA World Cup leading goal scorer Messi could not make an impact with a goal in the match; however, he stayed till the last whistle and motivated the team as Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez struck in extra time to help Argentina beat a 10-man Switzerland by 3-1.

“I feel very happy about the victory, a very hard-fought win. We knew it was going to be a very intense match. It was important for us to take this step to have a more relaxed week before what’s coming,” Messi said after the match, according to Goal.com.

Argentina netted in their 15th successive World Cup game. The only teams with longer scoring streaks in the competition are Uruguay (16 games from 1930-1962), Hungary (17 games from 1934-1962), Germany (18 games from 1986-1998), Germany (18 games from 1934-1958) and Brazil (18 games from 1930-1958).

Celebrating the win on social media, Messi shared a series of photos from the hard-fought victory and emphasised the mental strength of the squad.

“Once again we had to suffer, but this team never stops believing. We are once again among the four best in the world!!! Let’s go!!!” Messi wrote on Instagram.

Lionel Scaloni’s side will now face fierce rivals England in the second semi-final at Atlanta Stadium on Thursday as they look to book their place in the final for the second consecutive time and give themselves a strong chance to defend their title and script history, becoming the first team to defend their title in FIFA WC history after Brazil in 1962.

–IANS

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