Switzerland's head coach, Murat Yakin, expressed strong disagreement with the referee's decision to issue a second yellow card to striker Breel Embolo for simulation in their quarter-final match against Argentina, a pivotal moment that he believes unfairly led to their defeat. Although Switzerland had been holding their own before Embolo's ejection in the 72nd minute, the team was subsequently forced to play defensively and conceded two goals in extra time, ultimately losing to the defending champions. Yakin acknowledged that the match was otherwise fair and did not accuse officials of intentionally favoring Argentina, but he lamented that the outcome was decided by a "mistake" and that football itself was not the true winner of the contest, highlighting the significance of the red card in determining the match's result as Argentina advances to the semi-finals where they will face England.

Switzerland's head coach, Murat Yakin, expressed strong disagreement with the referee's decision to issue a second yellow card to striker Breel Embolo for simulation in their quarter-final match against Argentina, a pivotal moment that he believes unfairly led to their defeat. Although Switzerland had been holding their own before Embolo's ejection in the 72nd minute, the team was subsequently forced to play defensively and conceded two goals in extra time, ultimately losing to the defending champions. Yakin acknowledged that the match was otherwise fair and did not accuse officials of intentionally favoring Argentina, but he lamented that the outcome was decided by a "mistake" and that football itself was not the true winner of the contest, highlighting the significance of the red card in determining the match's result as Argentina advances to the semi-finals where they will face England.

Switzerland's head coach, Murat Yakin, expressed strong disagreement with the referee's decision to issue a second yellow card to striker Breel Embolo for simulation in their quarter-final match against Argentina, a pivotal moment that he believes unfairly led to their defeat. Although Switzerland had been holding their own before Embolo's ejection in the 72nd minute, the team was subsequently forced to play defensively and conceded two goals in extra time, ultimately losing to the defending champions. Yakin acknowledged that the match was otherwise fair and did not accuse officials of intentionally favoring Argentina, but he lamented that the outcome was decided by a "mistake" and that football itself was not the true winner of the contest, highlighting the significance of the red card in determining the match's result as Argentina advances to the semi-finals where they will face England.

Switzerland head coach Murat Yakin voiced his displeasure over Breel Embolo's red card in the quarter-final against defending champions Argentina on Sunday. The underdogs were in command before the striker received a second yellow following a VAR check, which turned the tide in favour of Lionel Messi's men.

Reduced to ten men, attack was no longer an option for Switzerland, who ended up conceding twice in extra time. The Swiss coach didn't mince his words while letting out his disagreement with the decision. “That decision was simply unbelievable. I completely disagree with it. There was clear contact, and I don’t understand how the referee and the VAR came to that conclusion,” noted football journalist Fabrizio Romano quoted Murat Yakin as saying.

“We were punished because of a mistake. There was no reason for that booking. I don’t understand it. It was an innocent situation; there was nothing malicious about it,” he added.

However, Yakin underlined that he is not stating that the referees and technology purposefully favoured Argentina. It was that the outcome of the match was not the kind on which one can say without doubt that football triumphed. “I wouldn’t say they were being favoured. We had a fair and open match. Both teams played football. Football wasn’t the winner today. We were punished by a mistake. It was a decisive moment that determined the outcome of the match. We can complain now, but I have to congratulate Argentina,” he said.

"(Argentina) didn't have anything else in the first half, just a corner goal," Switzerland team captain Granit Xhaka said after the game, per The Athletic.


"The second half was our game. We knew that step by step, we can take more risks. "We took it, we scored on the pitch, we felt very good," Xhaka added. "We had
more energy, we had more belief as well, and the red card changed everything.

Argentina reaches final four

Dan Ndoye scored for Switzerland, which played short-handed from the 72nd minute onwards after Breel Embolo received a second yellow card and was ejected. The latter was for simulation after a video review by referee João Pedro Silva Pinheiro. Kobel and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez both made four saves. Switzerland got the tying goal in the 67th minute following a sustained push.

Ndoye played a give-and-go with Ricardo Rodríguez near the top left corner of the penalty area. Ndoye got the ball back and dribbled to the edge of the 6-yard box before putting a low shot between Martínez's legs as the goalie started to go down. "The truth is we suffered today. We knew they were a very physical team. I think they put us in a lot of difficulty," Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. "We weren't able to get out of certain situations. The truth is that luck was on our side today, because they had a player sent off and, from there, the team went on the attack."

In the first semi-final, France will take on Spain in Dallas before Argentina take on England in Atlanta.

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