Argentina 0-0 Switzerland (AET 1-0): Argentina trembles to get ticket
Argentina had to wait until the 118th minute to find the back of the net. But in the little time left, Tango fans still had to go through some thrilling moments...
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| Di Maria and Messi share joy after precious goal |
SCORING
Argentina:Di Maria (118')
Before the two teams took the field, all six matches of the 2014 World Cup Round of 16 had ended with the group winners winning. That was also partly the pressure on Argentina, causing the Albiceleste to enter the match somewhat hastily against their opponents Switzerland.
Coach Alejandro Sabella fielded three strikers from the start, with Lionel Messi and Ezequiel Lavezzi supporting Gonzalo Higuain. There’s no denying that pushing out wide helped Argentina’s attacking ideas to be relatively coherent, but they lacked a bit of precision in the final touches.
In fact, it was Switzerland who had more chances in the first half. The 28th minute was the first real chance of the match, from a combination with Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka fired a powerful shot in a favorable position, but unfortunately the ball hit goalkeeper Romero's foot. 11 minutes later, striker Josip Drmic ran down to face the Argentine goalkeeper, but he finished too carelessly. Daily Mail reporter Dan Ripley revealed that he... banged his head on the table because he felt so sorry for Switzerland in this situation.
The 0-0 score further encouraged Argentina to organize many attacks right after the second half whistle. Continuous attacks from both wings put strong pressure on the Swiss defense. The 62nd minute witnessed Higuain's excellent header, but goalkeeper Benaglio made an excellent save for Switzerland.
The following minutes were Messi's explosion. In the 68th minute, Messi fired a long shot that went wide, his first significant shot of the match. In the 75th minute, Messi had a very accurate cross, and substitute striker Palacio headed it out. Just 3 minutes later, Messi again dribbled the ball very well into the penalty area, but the Barca star's powerful shot was once again brilliantly denied by goalkeeper Benaglio.
In the second half's injury time, Argentina fans were given a scare when Fabian Schaer missed a free kick, but the Swiss defender's header went over the bar. The score was 0-0, forcing the two teams into extra time.
In extra time, goalkeeper Benaglio continued to play very well, he continuously blocked Palacio's header as well as Di Maria's beautiful long-range shot. It was not until the 118th minute that the decisive goal was scored, Messi dribbled straight into the middle, before setting up Di Maria to finish skillfully into the far corner of the Swiss goal from a comfortable position.
That goal did not kill the spirit of Switzerland. In the first minute of extra time, Dzemaili headed against the post, leaving the Argentines trembling with the ticket to the next round!
LINEUP
Argentina:Romero; Zabaleta, Fernandez, Garay, Rojo (Basanta 105'), Gago (Biglia 106'), Mascherano, Di Maria, Lavezzi (Palacio 74'), Messi, Higuain.
Switzerland:Benaglio; Lichtsteiner, Djourou, Schar, Rodriguez, Behrami, Inler, Shaqiri, Xhaka (Fernandes 66'), Mehmedi (Dzemaili 113'), Drmic (Seferovic 82').
