Lionel Messi was involved in a heated exchange with the referee during Argentina’s World Cup victory

Argentina’s Lionel Messi, left, talks as Portugal’s Joao Pinheiro (AP Photo) Lionel Messi found himself at the center of another viral World Cup moment after a lively exchange with Portuguese referee João Pinheiro during Argentina’s quarter-final win over Switzerland on Saturday. The incident happened in the first half of Argentina’s dramatic 3-1 extra-time win at the Kansas City Stadium, a result that sent the defending champions into the World Cup semi-finals to face England in Atlanta. The confrontation occurred as Switzerland prepared for a free kick. Messi, standing in Argentina’s defensive wall, appeared frustrated by Pinheiro’s instructions to retreat to the required distance before a set-piece was played. The brief but tense interaction was caught on TV cameras, with the Argentina captain visibly exchanging words with the referee. Clips of the incident quickly spread across social media and became one of the highlights of the match despite Argentina’s eventual victory. The match itself started perfectly for Lionel Scaloni’s side. Just 10 minutes in, he takes an accurate corner kick from the left side. Alexis Mac Allister sends a header into the lead in the ratio 1:3. The opening period was fiercely contested, with both teams battling for control in midfield and creating few clear-cut opportunities. Argentina carried their slender advantage into the interval before Switzerland responded on the restart. Dan Ndoye brought Switzerland level after a neat one-two on the edge of the box, although Emiliano Martínez had already made two important saves to keep Argentina in the lead. Switzerland’s hopes suffered a major setback in the 72nd minute when Breel Embolo was shown a second yellow card following a VAR review for simulation, reducing his team to 10 men. Argentina dominated possession after gaining a numerical advantage and almost found a winner late in normal time, only for Gregor Kobel to brilliantly block Lisandro Martínez’s acrobatic bicycle kick. The breakthrough finally came in extra time when Julián Álvarez cut inside from the left and restored Argentina’s lead with a superb strike into the top corner. Lautaro Martínez then finished off the game, reacting quickest to the rebound after a quick counter-attack to make it 3-1 and seal Argentina’s passage into the last four. The victory also extended Argentina’s remarkable streak of scoring in 15 consecutive FIFA World Cup matches, one of the longest such streaks in the tournament’s history, as Scaloni’s side continued their quest for World Cup titles.