Argentina beat Belgium
July 5, 2014
Argentina looked like they were out to break the mold of the so-far cagey knock-out stages in this World Cup - not least by actually getting one of their strikers to score.
Gonzalo Higuain finally got going for the South American side, scoring in the eighth minute of his best game so far. Lionel Messi took advantage of a mistake by Belgian captain Vincent Kompany to slide the ball out wide to Angel Di Maria.
His pass - actually intended to play in Pablo Zabaleta outside him - was deflected off a Belgian defender into the path of Higuain, who took the ball first time and slotted an efficient finish into the corner.
Just like in Germany's victory over France on Friday, the early goal made things easier for the favorites, who were able to keep their shape, frustrate Belgium and attempt to catch the Red Devils on the break. The ruse almost worked on a couple of occasions, with Messi persistently trying to play in Di Maria with diagonal balls.
The scheme backfired on the half-hour mark though, when Di Maria appeared to pull a thigh muscle as he took a shot. Arguably Argentina's mostg dangerous player could only struggle on for a few more minutes before being withdrawn for Enzo Perez. It was a serious blow for the Argentineans, and effectively left Messi isolated in attack for the rest of the game.
Red Devils with no fire
Not that it mattered much. As throughout the tournament, Belgium showed little of the brilliance their widely-celebrated players promised. Wolfsburg's Kevin De Bruyne offered their most potent threat, forcing saves from stinging long-range efforts.
When the first 15 minutes of the second half brought no improvement from the stagnating Red Devils, Belgium coach Marc Wilmots introduced two strikers - including Romelu Lukaku, who had wrought havoc in the USA defense in the opening game of the knockout rounds.
The changes made Belgium a little more dangerous, with their crosses seeking out the aerial threat of Lukaku. But just as Germany did with France, Argentina looked comfortable keeping the Belgians at arm's length. Their only highlight - a heroic save by Thibault Courtois to deny Messi in injury time - was just a footnote.