Switzerland pushed Argentine to the boundary of despair on Tuesday – until 12th minute of the second half of extra time, when their goalless game became 1-0 in the favour of South Americans.
The genius of Lionel Messi created an opportunity for Di María and he put the team in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Now, they will face Belgium, which eliminated the U.S. after winning by 2-1, also in extra time.
Messi created moves and he could have decided the game in normal time. But what made his work difficult was the lack of creativity in Argentinian midfield. In the extra time, Argentina looked tired. Switzerland too didn’t make many attacks. Only Di Maria had some breath to run across the pitch. Like a man possessed, he ran from one side to the other without stopping, as if waiting for the reward.
This came in the individual play of Messi with three minutes remaining and the shot found the target. The Argentine supporters exploded with joy at the Sao Paulo stadium.
Messi and Di María celebrated with a hug when the match ended. With suffering and pain, Argentina is in the quarterfinals.
Belgium beat the U.S. by 2-1 in extra time at the Fonte Nova in Salvador. Now, the European team will clash with Argentina for a spot in the semifinals. The Bahian stadium, which had the best average of goals in the first phase of this World Cup with 5.25 goals per game, saw “only” three goals this time. But the game was spectacular.
Belgium played well, created numerous chances, but they were stopped by the best player on the field, the American goalkeeper Tim Howard, who began his series of defenses in the first minute.
The first goal came three minutes into extra time after Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku pushed past Matt Besler along the right touchline, raced into the penalty area alone and sent the ball forward for Kevin De Bruyne, who spun away from two defenders and rolled the ball into the far corner. And with the U.S. pushing hard for the tying goal Lukaku, who didn’t come off the bench until the 91st minute, added what appeared to be an insurance goal on a counterattack near the end of the first 15-minute overtime.
Bureau Report
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