Argentina played with black arm bands in memory of the death of an Argentinal Football icon Antonio Rattin.
( Rattín played at the 1962 World Cup in Chile and the 1966 tournament in England, and also finished runner-up in the Copa América twice. ) Interestingly he is also the reason for the introduction of yellow and red cards as disciplinary measures in the game – circa 1966. (Read about that bit of footballing history here . It involved Argentina playing England)
Fast forward to 2026 and we see that it was a red card (Rattin’s contribution to the game) that led to the downfall of Switzerland.
Argentina opened the scoresheet with Mac Allistar’s brilliant header ( Messi assist) .After that Argentina seemed to switch off and play in what looked like neutral gear and so naturally the Swiss equalised .
Brain fade by Embolo.To dive when VAR is watching everything with its beady eyes is not a very intelligent thing to do.
His red card ( remember Ratin ) took the wind out of the 10 man Swiss team’s sails and they eventually succumbed to the relentless wave of attacks that they were subsequently subjected to.
Argentina has proved time and time again that extra time is where they thrive. La Araña (Julian Alvarez) curled one into the top-right corner.Kobel, the swiss giant unfortunately couldn’t wrap his arms around it. In fact, he couldn’t even reach it.
Lautaro also managed to slot one home a bit later The Swiss players gave it their best but the red card ( remember Rattin) was their undoing. Granit Xhaka, a national hero, possibly played his last world cup.
What stands between Argentina and the finals is the deadly duo of Kane and Bellingham. ( Two icons of the past – Rattin and Maradona will have reserved ring side seats from heaven to watch their country take on England once again. )
Many possibilities, endless outcomes. Passion will decide it all. (LP)
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