“When you reach a semi-final you need to suffer,” said Lionel Scaloni. Although did Argentina need to suffer quite so much? Taken to extra-time by a depleted Switzerland side, just as they had been by the minnows of Cape Verde, and requiring a record-breaking comeback to see off Egypt, the defending champions’ route through the knockout stages has seemed based on suffering.
But after Switzerland were beaten in Kansas City, Scaloni kept returning to a reason why it was a struggle, one that could have pertinence for their last-four date with England in Atlanta: physicality. “Physically they are a very strong squad,” he said. “It was very difficult for us to win the duels. Switzerland are very good on a physical level.”
