Argentina booked their place in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals after claiming a 29-17 victory over Wales in the quarter-final in Marseille.

Wales jumped out to a 10-point lead before Argentina responded with four penalties from Emiliano Boffelli.

Tomos Williams restored Wales’s lead with a brilliant effort, before Joel Sclavi and Nicolas Sanchez score late tries to seal the victory.

Next Friday, the Pumas will face New Zealand in the semi-final at Stade de France in Paris.

Wales’ loss hinged on a controversial call by English referee Karl Dickson, who replaced Jaco Peyper early in the game due to a calf injury. Peyper was the South African official.

At a ruck, Argentina lock Guido Petti’s shoulder collided with the head of Wales centre Nick Tompkins, who was leading 17-12.

Petti’s action was deemed legal by referee Dickson, who issued no penalty, and Pumas prop Sclavi scored to give Argentina a 19-17 lead.

Tompkins was forced to leave the field for a head injury assessment (HIA), requiring a limping Dan Biggar to move to centre and fly-half Sam Costelow to enter the game.

Sanchez intercepted a Costelow pass to score with Wales chasing the game and added a late penalty to rub salt in the wounds and send Warren Gatland’s squad home.

Welsh wing In the first half, Josh Adams was not given a yellow card for a shoulder charge.

Louis Rees-Zammit was denied in the corner by a brilliant tackle from Matias Moroni after a break by Rio Dyer gave Wales a late opportunity to seal the victory.

It was a chaotic game, with numerous Wales players removing their shirts in the first half, and they have now been eliminated from the competition.

The Pumas were ecstatic and deserved their victory as they advanced to the World Cup semi-finals in France for the second time since 2007.

After losing their opening game against England, Argentina finished as the runner-up in their pool at this tournament, but have since won four consecutive games to continue their participation under Michael Cheika.

After qualifying for the quarterfinals as pool winners, Wales’ World Cup journey has come to a disappointing end.

It was the fourth consecutive tournament in which Wales advanced to the quarterfinals under Gatland, but it did not result in a third appearance in the semifinals.

Gatland returned for a second time in December 2022, when he replaced Wayne Pivac, and had a disappointing Six Nations with only five victories.

The New Zealander insisted prior to the World Cup that Wales would surprise everyone and do something special.

They surpassed expectations by winning their pool with victories over Fiji, Portugal, Australia, and Georgia, but Wales and Gatland will view this as a missed opportunity.

Biggar, who will retire from international rugby at the conclusion of the tournament, made his final appearance as well.

Biggar and Liam Williams courageously gave their all after recovering from injuries, but were unable to prevent the Pumas’ victory.

Wales number eight Taulupe Faletau and Argentina flanker Pablo Matera were ruled out of the tournament due to injury for their respective teams.

Aaron Wainwright moved from blind-side flanker to number eight, captain Jac Morgan donned the number six jersey, and Leicester open-side Tommy Reffell was introduced due to the absence of Faletau.

Adams released Rees-Zammit for an early sprint, and Argentine fullback Juan Cruz Mallia responded with a sprint of his own.

Boffelli missed the earlier conceded penalty, but it took a crucial defensive intervention by Wales fullback Williams on Mallia later in the play for the penalty to be saved.

Wales’ shirt numbers were falling off, causing confusion and symbolising the frantic opening exchanges.

Biggar initiated and completed a slick Welsh manoeuvre that restored order and dignity.

He released centre George North, who had become the first player from Wales to appear in four World Cup quarterfinals.

North was taken down prior to releasing number nine Gareth Davies, who found the supporting Biggar to score the try, which was converted by Biggar.

When Peyper was forced off the pitch with a calf injury and replaced by Dickson, the surreal scenes resumed.

Wales played much more expansive rugby, particularly off the first phase, than in recent games, but they were unable to capitalise on the opportunities they created.

North again breached the Pumas’ defence, but Wales squandered a try-scoring opportunity when Adams lost possession after receiving North’s final pass.

Biggar missed a penalty kick after flankers Morgan and Reffell had teamed up to win a turnover against Argentina.

A malfunctioning line-out hindered Wales’ efforts to extend their lead, and flanker Reffell was not penalised for what appeared to be a tackle on Pumas wing Mateo Carreras in the air.

Argentina responded with a penalty kick by Boffelli, which was followed by a melee under the Wales goalposts.

Adams initiated it with an unnecessary shoulder charge on Cubelli, but the Wales wing avoided a yellow card. Boffelli converted the penalty kick to reduce the halftime deficit to 10-6.

In the second half, Wales players donned new uniforms, and hooker Ryan Elias was replaced by co-captain Dewi Lake.

Boffelli added two more penalties, including a tremendous effort from inside his own half to give Argentina its first lead.

The momentum had shifted, and the control Wales had displayed at times in the first half was replaced by an element of chaos in their play as the Argentina fans in the Marseille stadium produced deafening noise.

The clinical nature Wales had displayed throughout the tournament returned when replacement scrum-half Williams scored after a brilliant individual effort involving a dummy and a sprint.

Liam Williams had played another unheralded role in the try by recovering a loose ball before the Argentine defence crushed him again.

It was one too many, and he was forced off the pitch, with Rees-Zammit assuming the position of fullback and Dyer assuming the position of winger.

The first contribution Rees-Zammit made in his new position was a long, errant kick that gave Argentina an opportunity to attack.

Argentina lock Petti’s shoulder made contact with Tompkins’ head as a result of the resulting ruck, but referee Dickson ruled it was not a foul.

Tompkins was forced off the pitch to undergo an HIA and Costelow was his initial replacement.

It was a crucial call, as replacement prop Sclavi was driven over and Boffelli converted to put Argentina in front.

Moroni denied Rees-Zammit in the corner after Dyer made a brilliant break before releasing Rees-Zammit. Wales reshuffled their backline by inserting Biggar in the middle position.

Tompkins returned after passing his HIA, but as Wales chased the game, their hopes were dashed when Sanchez intercepted Costelow’s pass and scored.

Boffelli’s conversion gave him 16 points, while Sanchez’s winning penalty sent Argentina’s fans into a frenzy and devastated Wales’ supporters.