Fifa World Cup Round of 16: Argentina scrape past Switzerland in extra time

Angel Di Maria scored deep into extra time to give Argentina a 1-0 win over Switzerland and seal the South Americans a place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup on Tuesday.

After a tense 0-0 draw at 90 minutes and a scoreless first period of extra time, Lionel Messi broke quickly and released Di Maria, who swept the ball home before wheeling away in delight.

Blerim Dzemaili almost saved the Swiss when his header hit the post but Argentina held on and now face a quarter-final with either Belgium or the United States, who play later on Tuesday.

Argentina had leaned heavily on Messi throughout the group stage, the number 10 scoring four of their six goals, and the forward was at the heart of their best work in the first half, prompting and prodding in front of the massed Swiss defence.

Switzerland, who were looking to return to the quarter-finals for the first time since hosting the tournament in 1954, went closest to scoring in a tight first half when impish playmaker Xherdan Shaqiri released Josip Drmic through on goal.

The tall striker shaped to shoot but wasted the opportunity with an ill-advised chip and Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero gathered comfortably.

With the score tied at 0-0 at halftime, the game then opened up in the second period as Argentina began to grab the momentum, and their blue and white clad fans brought the Corinthians arena to life, chanting and bouncing in unison.

The warning signs were flashing for Switzerland when Gonzalo Higuain went close with a header before Messi drove into the box and forced Diego Benaglio into a great save.

However, despite camping out in the Swiss half for long sections of the second half Argentina could not make the breakthrough and the 90 minutes ended scoreless.

Argentina looked the stronger side in extra time when Swiss legs began to tire and, just when it looked like Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson would call for a penalty shootout, Di Maria curled the ball past Benaglio to seal the late triumph.

FULL TIME (AET)

Argentina 1 (Di Maria 118") Switzerland 0

120+3" Shaqiri wins a free kick just outside the penalty box but hits it against the wall.

120+1" Agony for Swiss as Schaer's shot hits the post.

Argentina 1 (Di Maria 118") Switzerland 0

118" GOAL! Di Maria produces a clinical finish after a beautifully weighted pass from Messi to score the winner for Argentina.

Messi runs straight at the Swiss defence after Leichsteiner lost it on the half way line and passes to Di Maria on the right. He fires with his left foot first time across to the far post.

113" Mehmedi makes way for Dzemaili as Swiss make their final change.

112" Di Maria has injected some pace and purpose into the attack firing in from the right with Djourou blocking one.

109" Di Maria lets fly a terrific shot from 30 yards which is tipped over the bar by Benaglio.

106" Argentina replaced Gago with Biglia at the break.

HALF TIME (ET)

Argentina 0 Switzerland 0

105+1" Di Maria makes a great run on the flank but his cross is poor.

104" Swiss enjoying a great spell of possession with crisp passing.

100" Argentina are content to play deep once again with Swiss making the moves with Shaqiri even attempting a shot from 40 yards.  

96" Swiss earn a free kick from a dangerous position after Shaqiri is hauled down but it is cleared away by Higuain.

94" Palacio gets in a decent header off a free kick from Messi with Benaglio making another save.

92" Di Maria gets in two wicked corners with Garay nearly nodding home the first one only to be beaten by Benaglio.

FULL-TIME

Argentina 0 Switzerland 0

90" YELLOW! Rojo is booked for a lunging tackle on Behrami and will miss the next match.

88" Messi showing his frustration shoving down Behrami.

84" Seferovic charges into the Argentinian half and loses the ball after committing a foul on Fernandez

82" Swiss makes another change as Drmic is off and Seferovic on.

78" Messi dinks his way into the box and rifles in a low hard shot with Benglio making a good save despite spilling it in the first attempt.

75" Palacio almost makes an instant impact heading wide a teasing cross from Messi.

74" YELLOW! Fernandez is booked for a nasty challenge on Di Maris while Argentina make their first change with Lavezzi making way for Palacio.

69" Messi volleys the ball just over the bar after chesting a ball down.

67" Higuain misses getting contact with an attempted header off a fine cross by Lavezzi.

65" Swiss make a change with Xhaka making way for Fernandes.

62" Higuain gets a header on goal but it is parried away by Benaglio.

60" Rojo tests Benaglio with a fierce shot at the near post and Messi almost gets to the rebound.

59" Benaglio punches clear a better cross from Argentina on the left by Rojo.

57" Rojo loops a cross into the box and Higuain is the only teammate in the box.

52" Swiss are swarming all over and Shaqiri sets up Drmic who smashes the ball over the bar.

50" Shaqiri's curling attempt from a free kick is saved unconvincingly by Romero.

49" Another foul by Xhaka on Messi and the free kick is parried away by Benaglio.

48" Argentina step up the temp winning a couple of corners. Messi takes it short and Di Maria's cross is cut out but the header comes back to a blue and white shirt.

46" Swiss kick off the second half.

HALF-TIME

Argentina 0 Switzerland 0

45" Swiss finish the half with yet another corner.

41" Di Maria fires tamely after getting a through ball from Messi.

39" Big miss by Swiss as Drmic is played into space by Shaqiri but sort of half chips straight at Romero who is stranded off the line.

36" YELLOW! Xhaka is the first to be booked for a clumsy foul on Lavezzi.

35" Shaqiri's bends the free kick straight into Romero's hands.

34" Shaqiri wins a free kick 18 yards from the endline all the way out on the right.

30" Di Maria whips in a great cross into the six-yard box but Garay makes the near-post run but can't quite get his head to the ball.

27" Swiss win successive corners and they take it fast and short. The ball in squared to Xhaka whose low shot is saved by Romero.

25" Messi takes the free kick but it's headed well over the bar by Higuain.

24" Messi skips past Behrami and tries to find Higuain in the box but the ball comes back to  Di Maria who is fouled in a dangerous position.

22" Inler draws a foul from Mascherano after fail to make use of a free kick inside the centre.

20" Messi cuts between two Swiss defenders and dribbles towards the box on the right but is tackled by Rodriguez.

18" Di Maria fails to keep a promising long ball down the left.

16" Zabaleta gets a cross in from the right with Messi, Higuain, and Lavezzi in the box but Bengalio catches easily.

15" Another Swiss foul, this time by Xhaka on Messi in the center of the field.

13" Messi finds some space and sned a low cross into the penalty area with Benaglio collecting comfortably.

12" Di Maria is fouled again on the left wing. But the cross is headed away by Djourou.

9" Behrami made a great run to the byline to get the move going as Swiss win a corner which is taken short and Inler sends it sailing over the cross bar.

6" Di Maria wins a free kick after a probing run on the left. Messi lays it off for the overlapping De Maria. Then Lichsteiner commits a foul on Di Maria and the Argentinians have a free kick that's crossed into the box but cleared.

2" Shaqiri wins the ball but fouls Lavezzi at the half way line and is admonished by the referee.

1" Argentina get the match under way in Sao Paulo.

The Swiss are in all red. Argentina are in their traditional blue and white striped shirts.

Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella has chosen Ezequiel Lavezzi to play up front alongside Lionel Messi in their last 16 clash with Switzerland on Tuesday.

Lavezzi starts instead of Sergio Aguero, who is suffering from a thigh strain. He had come on to replace the forward in Argentina's last two Group E games against Nigeria and Iran.

The change is the only one from the side that started Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Africans.

Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld named an unchanged side from the one that started against Honduras last week.

Xherdan Shaqiri starts up front hoping to maintain the fine form that brought him a hat-trick in the 3-0 win.

Switzerland have never beaten Argentina in six previous meetings.

TEAMS

Teams for Tuesday's 2014 World Cup Round of 16 match between Argentina and Switzerland at the Corinthians arena, Sao Paulo.

Argentina: 1-Sergio Romero; 2-Ezequiel Garay, 4-Pablo Zabaleta, 16-Marcos Rojo, 17-Federico Fernandez; 5-Fernando Gago, 7-Angel Di Maria, 14-Javier Mascherano; 22-Ezequiel Lavezzi, 9-Gonzalo Higuain, 10-Lionel Messi

Substitutes: 3-Hugo Campagnaro, 6-Lucas Biglia, 8-Enzo Perez, 11-Maxi Rodriguez, 12-Agustin Orion, 13-Augusto Fernandez, 15-Martin Demichelis, 18-Rodrigo Palacio, 19-Ricky Alvarez, 20-Sergio Aguero, 21-Mariano Andujar, 23-Jose Basanta

Switzerland: 1-Diego Benaglio; 2-Stephan Lichtsteiner, 13-Ricardo Rodriguez, 20-Johan Djourou, 22-Fabian Schaer; 8-Gokhan Inler, 10-Granit Xhaka, 23-Xherdan Shaqiri, 11-Valon Behrami; 18-Admir Mehmedi, 19-Josip Drmic

Substitutes: 3-Reto Ziegler, 4-Philippe Senderos, 5-Steve von Bergen, 6-Michael Lang, 7-Tranquilo Barnetta, 9-Haris Seferovic, 12-Yann Sommer, 14-Valentin Stocker, 15-Blerim Dzemaili, 16-Gelson Fernandes, 17-Mario Gavranovic, 21-Roman Buerki

Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)

PREVIEW

Lionel Messi has been the key to Argentina's perfect start at the World Cup, scoring four of their six goals in three straight group wins, and the South Americans hope his blistering form continues when they face Switzerland in the last 16 on Tuesday.

Also battling for a place in the quarter-finals are the United States and Belgium, who arrived as one of the favourites to lift the trophy but have not yet fired on all cylinders.

Although Argentina have yet to reach the heights many expected of them in Brazil, Messi has been on a different planet, electrifying crowds and banishing memories of the goal drought he endured in South Africa four years ago.

Fellow forward Sergio Aguero is a major doubt after picking up an injury against Nigeria in their final group game, however, and should he miss out manager Alejandro Sabella may opt for the versatile Ezequiel Lavezzi.

Sabella, though, was playing his cards close to his chest on the eve of the match in Sao Paulo.

"In case Lavezzi plays he can play in two different positions," he told reporters. "But I am telling you, the line-up is not decided yet."

Switzerland hope Xherdan Shaqiri, dubbed the 'Alpine Messi' for his impish skills, will provide the key to beating Argentina for the first time.

The bustling little forward has been in top form for the Swiss, stealing the show with a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Honduras that sealed their spot in the last 16.

"The midfield will feed him, and he plays really well up front," captain Gokhan Inler said of Shaqiri. "The good thing is he cannot be figured out that easily. We need to have him free."

In Salvador, the United States will look to sprint out of the blocks to unsettle slow-starting Belgium.

The Belgians ground out group wins over Algeria, Russia and South Korea but were far from impressive, failing to score in any of those games until the last 20 minutes.

Defender Thomas Vermaelen has not recovered from a hamstring injury and will miss the game while captain Vincent Kompany will undergo a late fitness test.

But coach Marc Wilmots expects playmaker Eden Hazard, another one who has yet to hit full stride, to have a big influence on the game.

"I’m sure that we’ll see a massive Hazard performance tomorrow which could prove decisive," he added.

After muscling out Portugal and Ghana for second spot behind Germany in Group G, the United States have grown in confidence and plan to go on the offensive.

"We have no fear at all," US coach Juergen Klinsmann said on Monday. "We feel fresh, we have recovered well after every game so far. We feel we have just started this adventure."

Klinsmann will be able to call on forward Jozy Altidore, who has recovered from a hamstring injury picked up in their group opener.US

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