Ezequiel Lavezzi hit the crossbar in the second half, and Lionel Messi was narrowly denied by Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in injury time. The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. The Roma midfielder’s easy talent was widely known before this tournament, but perhaps the key is that he’s applied it in difficult circumstances. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Higuain cut in and drilled in a low effort that deflected off Daniel van Buyten and past the near-post with Courtois stranded, then the Lazio striker sped into the Belgium half, nutmegged Kompany while at full speed, and fairly belted a shot that smacked the top of the bar. Argentina 1-0 Belgium World Cup 2014 MATCH REPORT: Gonzalo Higuain's early strike enough to book first semi-final in 24 years for Alejandro Sabella's men … Colin Udoh and Ed Dove look back on the highs and lows of Ghana's run to the 2010 World Cup quarterfinal. In the closing minutes Wilmots went for broke by pushing his tallest players, Fellaini and Van Buyten, up front as extra strikers and Belgium threw the kitchen sink at Argentina but the South Americans held out against the aerial bombardment, with substitute Romelu Lukaku and Axel Witsel coming closest. De Bruyne nearly surprised Sergio Romero with a shot with a short back-lift and the rebound from the save only just eluded Origi. The two goals against Spain and Brazil were a display of his elite finishing, the pace that brought them the kind of dynamic play top clubs crave. - Brewin: Higuain effort enough for Argentina Marc Wilmots makes a change to his starting XI as he continues to search for the right team. Three of Argentina’s five shots have come from Di María. Argentina: Romero, Garay, Basanta, Zabaleta, Biglia, Mascherano, Demichelis, Di Maria, Higuain, Messi, Lavezzi. Marouane Fellaini, who had spent most of the match being bypassed by Messi, failed to make up for it when another Vertonghen cross picked him out, the Manchester United player heading over. First published on Sat 5 Jul 2014 10.30 EDT. He looked conspicuously lazy in a team full of languid attackers. It was not just about the goals he scored that brought such momentous results against Italy and Greece. He could command a similar figure again. Ángel Di María looked feisty early on, looking to shoot on his left foot three or four times only for it to be blocked. Goals. By Wahid Al Mamun. The other two changes are tactical, with Sabella opting to shore up a defence that looked shaky against the Swiss. Was his display against Brazil the outstanding performance of the first round? There was time too for Messi to break clear and sprint in on Courtois, but his effort was brilliantly blocked by the Belgium keeper, although it mattered not to the final outcome. World Cup 2014 - Argentina vs. Belgium | The Huffington Post One such move put Ezequiel Lavezzi clear on the right and only Vincent Kompany's alert intervention prevented a goal. The sheer number of high-profile high-quality saves that the 28-year-old produced are in stark contrast to what has been a humble club career, having spent three years at lowly Ajaccio. Martin Demichelis will start against Belgium for Argentina, World Cup 2014: 10 stars who have shone during the World Cup in Brazil, Argentina vs Belgium World Cup 2014 team news: Alejandro Sabella makes. Venue Estádio Nacional de Brasília (Brasília, Distrito Federal) Attendance 68551. A dream of a pass from Messi sliced through the Belgian ranks for Di Maria but Kompany did brilliantly to get back to block him - and the Real Madrid winger injured himself while taking the shot and had to be replaced by Enzo Perez. NYTimes.com no longer supports Internet Explorer 9 or earlier. Substitues: Bossut, Lombaerts, Defour, Ciman, Mignolet, Vermaelen, Dembele, Chadli, Mertens, Lukaku, Januzaj. Messi started off playing deep, seeing plenty of the ball and creating some good positions for his teammates. Paul Doyle @Paul_Doyle Sat 5 Jul 2014 13.54 EDT. More Details. Benzema has been one of the best players of the first four games, combining clutch finishing with classy build-up play that has been central to France’s joyful resurgence as a world force again. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate.