KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — On one side of the field will be Argentina, the defending World Cup champions, boasting a roster that features the likes of Lautaro Martinez, Julián Alvarez and, of course, Lionel Messi, perhaps the greatest player of his generation.
On the other side, Switzerland.
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Switzerland's Denis Zakaria, center, goalkeeper Gregor Kobel (1) and their teammates celebrate after winning a penalty shootout in the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Switzerland and Colombia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Switzerland fans cheer after defeating Colombia in a penalty shootout during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match in Vancouver, British Columbia, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Argentina players toss teammate Lionel Messi (10) into the air as they celebrate after the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Argentina and Egypt in Atlanta, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
Switzerland head coach Murat Yakin watches training for the World Cup soccer tournament Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) celebrates scoring their second goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Argentina and Egypt in Atlanta, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo)
Yes, the final quarterfinal match Saturday night could hardly seem a bigger mismatch. Argentina has the glitz and the glamor, to say nothing of the stars and the trophies, while the Swiss have never even reached the World Cup semifinals; in fact, they haven't been to the quarterfinals since 1954, when they lost to Austria in a tournament they hosted.
But anything can happen on the field as Argentina and the rest of the world learned when the three-time champions struggled to beat Cape Verde, and when La Albiceleste had to rally from a 2-0 deficit in the final 11 minutes to beat Egypt on Tuesday. And that has given hope to a Switzerland team that beat Colombia on penalty kicks to earn a date with the Argentines at Arrowhead Stadium.
“We know Argentina has many fine qualities. Few talk about the Swiss qualities,” defensive midfielder and team captain Granit Xhaka said Friday. “Tomorrow we will talk on the pitch, and we will show what we can do, and everything else doesn’t matter.”
The winner will play either Norway or England on Wednesday in Atlanta for a spot in the World Cup final.
“It's obviously a very tough challenge,” Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji said, “but I think we're ready. I think we can play against any opponent and make it hard for them. We know it's going to be difficult but we're going to give our best.”
Everything starts on defense for Switzerland, which has allowed only three goals in five matches, and which shut out Luis Díaz and Colombia for 120 minutes in the round of 16. The job of stopping Messi's charmed World Cup will fall on the shoulders of Xhaka and Akanji, along with Remo Freuler, Nico Elvedi and goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
Meanwhile, La Albiceleste is riding an 11-match World Cup unbeaten streak dating to 2022 in Qatar, and they've scored multiple goals in each of those games, which ties them with Uruguay for the longest such streak in tournament history.
Messi, who had a hat trick against Algeria in a group match at Arrowhead Stadium, is even with France forward Kylian Mbappe with eight goals apiece in their race for the Golden Boot. The 39-year-old Argentina captain has scored a record 21 goals in his World Cup career, and that includes at least one in a record six consecutive knockout matches.
Messi's goal against Egypt leveled the game in the 83rd minute before Enzo Fernández delivered the winner in stoppage time.
“Especially for those players on the bench, the players who watch Lionel Messi play and can't believe what they're watching — he should be a role model for them,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “He tries again and again, and I get goosebumps.”
He might give goosebumps to his own side, but Messi sends a different kind of chill through the opposition.
“I don't know that we can stop him over 90 minutes. It's going to be difficult,” Xhaka said. “But we have to be smart, compact, close the gaps and not give him too many spaces. We just try to play our game."
Argentina appears to be healthy going into the match, but Switzerland will once again be without midfielder Johan Manzabi because of a knee injury. The SC Freiburg star scored two goals in a 4-1 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the group stage.
“We tried everything we could to get him back in peak form,” Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said. “Momentum was on his side, and there was so much joy when he plays, and he has his teammates by his side. Everything worked out so well for him until now.”
One of the big concerns for games in Kansas City had been the weather, not only because of severe storms in the Heartland but also heat indexes that frequently top triple digits in the summer. But temps should be in the upper 80s Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) for the start of the match with only a slight chance of precipitation.
Several games throughout the World Cup have found the spotlight cast on the referee, but FIFA decided to turn attention there before this match began. Usually, FIFA tries to appoint referees from different confederations to avoid any potential bias. But it will be João Pinheiro of Portugal — like Switzerland, a UEFA nation — who will be monitoring the action Saturday night.
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
Switzerland's Denis Zakaria, center, goalkeeper Gregor Kobel (1) and their teammates celebrate after winning a penalty shootout in the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Switzerland and Colombia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Switzerland fans cheer after defeating Colombia in a penalty shootout during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match in Vancouver, British Columbia, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Argentina players toss teammate Lionel Messi (10) into the air as they celebrate after the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Argentina and Egypt in Atlanta, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
Switzerland head coach Murat Yakin watches training for the World Cup soccer tournament Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Kansas City, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) celebrates scoring their second goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Argentina and Egypt in Atlanta, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo)
LONDON (AP) — If there were any lingering questions over Jannik Sinner’s physical status after his meltdown at the French Open, they should be answered now.
Sinner blasted his way past seven-time champion Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Friday to reach the Wimbledon final — showing off the kind of dominance he displayed before that second-round defeat in Paris.
“I knew mentally," Sinner said, “that today I had to raise my level, which I’ve done.”
For the 39-year-old Djokovic, it marked another chance missed at adding to his record total of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.
But Djokovic expressed interest in playing Wimbledon when he's 40: “I would like to, at least one more time,” he said.
“I feel when I’m healthy, I’m still able to play as a top-five player, still able to compete at the highest level,” Djokovic added.
It was a measure of revenge for Sinner after Djokovic won their last meeting in five sets in this year’s Australian Open semifinals.
“Playing against Novak,” Sinner said, “what he’s still showing is true inspiration.”
Aiming to defend his title at the grass-court Grand Slam, the top-ranked Sinner will face second-seeded Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final.
Zverev ended the “Ferytale” run of British wild card Arthur Fery with an overpowering 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-4 victory earlier as the star-studded crowd on Centre Court witnessed two one-way contests.
Zverev will be playing for another major trophy a month after winning his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.
“This Grand Slam has always been the one that I struggled with the most and all of a sudden I’m in the final of Wimbledon,” the 29-year-old German said. “We got one more match to go on Sunday and that’s what the focus is on.”
It was another warm day in southwest London, with the temperature rising to about 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 Celsius). It was also breezy and a bit cloudier than in recent days.
Still, it felt nothing like the suffocating heat and humidity in Paris when Sinner wasted a big lead against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who was ranked No. 56, and had his 30-match winning streak ended in dramatically unexpected fashion.
Djokovic was coming off the longest quarterfinal in Wimbledon history, when he outlasted Felix Auger-Aliassime after 5 hours, 15 minutes on Tuesday.
Sinner, by contrast, hadn’t lost a set since he was pushed to five by Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round.
From the start, Sinner pushed Djokovic back with his powerful groundstrokes and came up with big serves in big moments.
When Sinner faced his only break point of the match early in the third set, he produced an ace.
Zverev, whose breakthrough at Roland Garros came in his fourth Grand Slam final, is attempting to become the first man in the professional era (since 1968) to win his second major title at the next event immediately after his first.
Sinner has won his last nine meetings with Zverev and 14 straight sets.
“I have to trust myself and I have to believe that I can win and that’s what I’m going to do,” Zverev said before he knew who his opponent would be.
The 114th-ranked Fery, who grew up five minutes from the All England Club and played at Stanford University, was attempting to become the first wild card to reach the final since Goran Ivanisevic won Wimbledon in 2001.
Zverev did well not to let the pro-Fery crowd get behind the local player too much and a double fault from Fery early in the first-set tiebreaker put Zverev in control.
The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Zverev was also able to dominate with his serve, which he cranked up to 139 mph (224 kph).
The 5-foot-9 (1.75-meter) Fery, by comparison, was serving closer to 120 mph (193 kph).
The British spectators did their best to encourage Fery early on, chanting his name between points as they sipped their Pimm’s under their wide-brimmed hats.
At one point early on, chair umpire Marijana Veljovic had to tell the crowd to pipe down.
“Ladies and gentlemen: Do not react, if possible, until the end of the point,” Veljovic said, before adding later in the first set: “Once again, do not react during the rally. That’s very disturbing for both players,” which was met with a round of applause.
When it was over, Fery walked off to a standing ovation and applauded the crowd in return.
“I know that 99.99% of the stadium was wanting Arthur to win. But it was still such an incredible atmosphere. It was such a fair crowd as well,” Zverev said. “A lot of crowds in the world can take an example of this crowd.”
Zverev had previously never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Now he’s the first German man to reach the final of the grass-court Grand Slam since Boris Becker lost to Pete Sampras in 1995.
The last German man to win Wimbledon was Michael Stich, who beat Becker in the 1991 final.
Becker, the three-time Wimbledon champion, wished Zverev “congratulations” in German on X: tweeting “Glückwunsch Sascha !!!,” using the player’s nickname.
The women’s final on Saturday features two Czech players, Karolina Muchova against Linda Noskova.
AP Sports Writer Ken Maguire contributed to this report.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates after defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in their men's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Jannik Sinner of Italy serves to Novak Djokovic of Serbia in their men's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Jannik Sinner of Italy returns the ball to Novak Djokovic of Serbia in their men's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts to losing a point against Jannik Sinner of Italy in their men's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates a point against Novak Djokovic of Serbia in their men's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Alexander Zverev of Germany celebrates after defeating Arthur Fery of Britain in their men's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Alexander Zverev of Germany, right speaks to Arthur Fery of Britain at the net after Zverev won their men's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Alexander Zverev of Germany celebrates after winning a point against Arthur Fery of Britain during their men's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Alexander Zverev of Germany, right, speaks to Arthur Fery of Britain at the net after Zverev won their men's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Alexander Zverev of Germany celebrates after defeating Arthur Fery of Britainn in their men's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Arthur Fery of Britain plays a volley against Alexander Zverev of Germany in their men's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Alexander Zverev of Germany hits a return to Arthur Fery of Britain during their men's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Arthur Fery of Britain plays a run to Alexander Zverev of Germany during their men's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Alexander Zverev of Germany celebrates after winning a point against Arthur Fery of Britain during their men's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Alexander Zverev of Germany celebrates winning a point against Arthur Fery of Britain during their men's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
