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World Cup 2014: Argentina 1-0 Switzerland

By on July 2, 2014

Angel Di Maria’s late extra-time strike secured Argentina’s place in the World Cup Quarterfinals at the expense of Switzerland via a 1-0 win.

It was a heartbreaking end to Switzerland boss Ottmar Hitzfeld’s 31-year managerial career but represented another step towards possible glory for Lionel Messi and Co at the other end. The South Americans must now prepare to play Belgium in the last eight after their 2-1 win against USA.

Meanwhile, Brazil face Colombia, Holland play Costa Rica and France face Germany in the standout tie of the Quarterfinals, but Argentina will need to up their game against Belgium, as they are hoping to win the World Cup for the third time.

Their performance against Switzerland was not their most impressive and lacked the spark that would be needed to go all the way, but they still achieved the result that was needed.

This could be seen as a positive, with the general consensus being that if a team plays badly, but still wins, then they are a good side. Argentina didn’t play badly, but they were below par despite dominating possession and that was thanks to Hitzfeld’s tactics.

He set the Swiss up to crowd out the Argentina attacks and this method worked perfectly – and it was still in place with moments to go in extra time with the game heading for penalties. But Messi’s foray forward allowed him to look up and find Real Madrid man Di Maria, and his low finish sent the crowd – believed to contain around 40,000 Argentines – into crazy celebration. It was Di Maria who scored but yet again Messi’s brilliance was a huge part of their success.

The Little Magician scored in each of Argentina’s group games, with winners against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iran as well as scoring twice against Nigeria. And it was his inch perfect pass that led to the Di Maria goal.

The strike came from Argentina’s 28th shot of the match and was probably a deserved winner, but the South American side nearly paid the price for losing their concentration. Swiss defender Blerim Dzemaili saw a header come back off the post before prodding wide in the dying seconds, yet they couldn’t quite find an equaliser.

The Argentines go into the quarter final against Belgium yet to hit top form and having relied heavily on Messi. Should they suddenly find their best form and reach their potential, they will be a fearsome force and could be fancied to go all the way – but with Holland, Brazil, France, Germany and even Colombia amongst the sides that have impressed and could be fancied to be successful, it will be a huge challenge.

Should they perform in an uninspiring way once more, Belgium will fancy their chances with the likes of Eden Hazard in their side.The Belgians will definitely be a different proposition than Switzerland, and will attack Argentina rather than just allow the South Americans to attack them. Nigeria exposed Argentina’s defensive frailties with two goals in their group contest and Belgium will hope to do the same.

But should Argentina progress, they will face either Holland or Costa Rica in the Semifinals. Holland have been amongst the most impressive sides of the tournament and are widely expected to make it past the Costa Ricans.

If they do, Argentina will have a massive challenge ahead of them to beat the Dutch, but should they do that Lionel Messi will be hoping to add his name to the folklore that Diego Maradona is a part of, by being a world class player and a captain of a World Cup winning side for Argentina.

About Darren Ash

Darren Ash Raised in South East London, the 18-year-old Media student is passionate about all things football. A season ticket holder at local team Millwall, he loves nothing more than the highs and lows of the beautiful game. Having followed the sport for as early as he can remember, Darren's goal is to become a professional football journalist. Follow him on Twitter @AshDarren