Throughout the World Cup tournament – from the first match through to the 3-1 quarter-final win on Saturday – Lionel Scaloni has been asked one question over and over again: what does he consider the legacy of this Argentina side?

Scaloni has been the head coach of Argentina for nearly eight years and his own personal legacy has long been solidified, as have those of many of his players on the pitch against Switzerland on Saturday night. Scaloni ended a near three-decade trophy drought, brought the country its third World Cup and won a pair of Copa Américas to boot. He is Argentina’s most successful coach and, while his appointment was controversial at the time, he is now almost universally revered there.

Scaloni sometimes dodges the question but on Friday he offered a poignant answer, referencing a viral video that surfaced in the wake of Argentina’s miraculous comeback victory against Egypt in the last 16. In it, a 10-year-old Argentinian child tears his shirt off, raving about what it means to be an Argentinian – the fighting spirit, all of it.

“The training staff and the players, we play football to see these things,” Scaloni said. “Things that come from the heart. It’s incredible – a kid that age says that. If this team has a legacy, that’s what we want. That tomorrow, kids like that think that they can be here playing [for the national team] in the future.”

Scaloni’s team have been inspiring through the entire tournament but they have probably shaved several years off the lifespan of their supporters in the process, always leaving things late, always relinquishing leads, always relying on Lionel Messi, their ageless wonder, to do the heavy lifting. Twice this tournament they were nearly eliminated by a badly outmatched opponent and were very nearly sent packing by tiny Cape Verde in the last 32.

And on Saturday, Argentina did it again. The Albiceleste scored early and seemed in control of the match against a Switzerland team that looked typically unimaginative, rarely challenging the defending champions. Messi seemed in cruise control, drifting in and out of things, his only involvement limited to taking a lovely corner for Argentina’s opening goal. For a spell, it seemed like the whole of Argentina might be afforded a respite from the madness; a chance, for once, to exhale.

And then came a mad 10‑minute stretch of the second half where Argentina began to cave. It took just one defensive breakdown to hand Switzerland the equalizer, a simply worked give-and-go that should have been dealt with easily. Even after a controversial Swiss red card offered Argentina a man advantage, they still struggled to finish the game. Messi, for once, looked human, missing a pair of very good chances as the game went to extra time.

It took a moment of sheer brilliance from a player who had otherwise been entirely quiet – the striker Julian Álvarez – to send Argentina through. His perfectly hit, curling strike allowed, for once, the Argentina faithful to exhale. Their relief turned into ecstasy, finally, when Lautauro Martínez iced the game at the death with a third goal. They were unexpected reminders that Messi, who was looked off during the buildup to the goal, does not always have to play talisman.

After the match, the gaggle of Argentinian reporters assembled to talk to the game’s protagonists and ask their questions. Many of them, even in victory, were dotted with words such as sufrir and costar. They had suffered for the win. The win had cost them.

“Every game in the World Cup, we are seeing that they’re like this,” Álvarez said after the game. “Sometimes it’s our turn [to suffer], but it’s also the same for our opponents. Tons of extra time, all of that. Whatever the case is, we know we will fight till the end. As long as we win, it’s fine.”

Scaloni said: “To make the World Cup semi-finals you have to suffer. We did it in Qatar as well … Ultimately we always find the solutions, and in the end tonight we made it possible.”

These are the two sides of Argentina in the past two World Cup tournaments: world‑beating brilliance and absolute chaos. In just three days they will face easily their tallest test of the tournament when they take on England in the semi-finals in Atlanta. It is the rekindling of one of global football’s most intense rivalries, fueled by politics, history and scandal. It is the rivalry of Maradona and Shilton, of Beckham and Simeone, but it will feature – for the first time, remarkably – Messi, who will be eager to carve his own exploits into the rivalry.

Scaloni, perhaps keenly aware of the historical and political overtones of the match, sought to minimize the task at hand. He probably ended up doing the opposite. “This is just a football game, OK?” he said. “That’s what I can say. It is a football game and we will be playing against a very tough opponent with an excellent coach. And this is a football game. And that is all.”

They will face England after playing 120 minutes in two of their past three knockout games and on just three days of rest. To Scaloni, the struggle is what builds character. Argentina are far from perfect but seem perfectly capable of getting punched in the face repeatedly and staying on their feet long enough. What lies ahead, though, is a road far bumpier than Cape Verde, Egypt, or Switzerland could provide. Should they manage to sustain their magic long enough to do away with England, they will face Spain or France in the final.

“This is part of our blood,” Scaloni said. “It is part of our DNA. [These struggles] bring peace of mind. We are more experienced and we know what it feels like to be dominated by the opponent, to have an equalizer. Today we kept our composure, the team knew how to remain calm, and we will never give up.”