Gonzalo Higuain’s early strike was enough to give Argentina a 1-0 win over Belgium, and take them into the World Cup semi-finals.
Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria and Javier Mascherano all started for the South American’s as they looked to book their place in the last four, whilst Atletico Madrid pair Thibaut Courtois and Toby Alderweireld were named in the Red Devils’ XI for the match in Brasilia.
It was Alejandro Sabella’s men who were the brighter of the two sides in the early exchanges. Some penetrating runs from Messi were promising, but the final ball from Di Maria and Ezequiel Lavezzi in the wide areas were sub-par.
That didn’t matter on eight minutes though. A poor pass from Di Maria was deflected into the path of Higuain, and the Napoli man swivelled before instinctively firing past the goalkeeper and into the bottom left-hand corner.
Marc Wilmots’ men weren’t disheartened by that earl goal however, and quickly looked to get the equaliser that would bring them back into this quarter-final clash. Jan Vertonghen was causing trouble down the left from full-back, and his wicked cross almost saw Dorick Origi head past Sergio Romero.
The European’s were now the team on top – having the lion’s share of possession and looking to break down the blue and white wall. However, they were always susceptible to the counter-attack, and if it wasn’t for the good defending of Vincent Kompany, they could have been two goals down.
Messi, as expected, was always threatening with the ball at his feet – and could have doubled his team’s lead towards the end of the half. A foul from Marouane Fellaini resulted in a free kick on the edge of the area, but the little man’s effort just scrapped the top of the crossbar.
After the break, still it was Sabella’s men who looked the most likely to grab the next goal. Lavezzi was threatening down the left with several good crosses, whilst Messi swung in a free kick that almost caught Courtois unawares.
It was Higuain however, who had the best chance to sew up the match. The former Real Madrid man nutmegged Kompany on the edge of the area and hit one high over the goalkeeper – the ball though, struck the top of the crossbar and ricocheted out.
Romero was being kept busy at the other end – with Fellaini heading just over and Ezequiel Garay deflecting a cross towards his own goal. The Monaco man though, was looking more assured than his previous outing against Switzerland.
Wilmots threw everything at Argentina in the final minutes, but the South American’s held strong, and made it into the last four.
Argentina 1-0 Belgium
Scorers: Higuain 8 (A)
Argentina: Romero; Zabaleta, Demichelis, Garay, Basanta; Mascherano, Biglia, Di Maria (Perez 33); Lavezzi (Palacio 70), Messi, Higuain (Gago 81)
Belgium: Courtois; Alderweireld, van Buyten, Kompany, Vertonghen; Witsel, Fellaini, De Bruyne; Mirallas (Mertens 59), Origi (Lukaku 59), Hazard (Chadli 75)
Referee: Rizzoli (ITA)
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