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28 March 2024

Brazil World Cup 2014 Quarter-finals: Higuain fires Argentina into semifinals

Gonzalo Higuain (left) of Argentina celebrates scoring his team's first goal with Angel di Maria during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Quarter Final match between Argentina and Belgium at Estadio Nacional on July 5, 2014 in Brasilia, Brazil. (GETTY)

Published
By Football Correspondent and Agencies

Gonzalo Higuain's superb early strike secured a nervy 1-0 win for Argentina against Belgium and sent the South Americans through to the last four of the World Cup for the first time in 24 years on Saturday.

Higuain buried a shot into the corner of the net in the eighth minute at the national stadium to set up a semi-final clash against 2010 runners-up the Netherlands or surprise package Costa Rica.

The 26-year-old Higuain reacted brilliantly when an Angel Di Maria pass was deflected towards him off Belgium defender Jan Vertonghen. He swiveled and struck the ball first time as Argentina ended a run of being eliminated in the last eight at the two most recent editions of soccer's global showpiece.

Belgium, whose best World Cup run was in 1986 when they were knocked out by Diego Maradona's Argentina in the semi-finals, had a couple of chances but otherwise offered little in attack despite sustained late pressure that set nerves among the thousands of Argentines thronging the giant arena jangling.

"It's a great joy for this squad, for the technical staff, for the people, for my family. We all crossed the Rubicon!," said Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella.

"It was the best in terms of the balance and play," he added of his side's quarter-final performance against the Belgians.

MORE AMBITIOUS

Argentina looked the more ambitious in the early stages and Higuain’s beautifully executed goal gave them a deserved lead.

They came close to a second in the 28th minute when Lionel Messi, who was a constant threat to the Belgium defence having set the tournament alight in the group stages, threaded a superb ball through for a galloping Di Maria.

However, the winger injured himself when his effort was blocked and was replaced by Enzo Perez a few minutes later.

Belgium were starting to enjoy more possession without really threatening before Messi flashed a free kick narrowly wide five minutes before the break.

With Argentina apparently happy to sit on their lead, Belgium’s best effort of the half came in the 42nd minute when Kevin Mirallas sent a diving header wide from Vertonghen's center.

Higuain was in fine form and raced through the center 10 minutes into the second half but, with Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois beaten, his shot clipped the top of the crossbar and the ball flew into the crowd.

Marouane Fellaini sent a 61st-minute header just over the bar in another good chance for Belgium and there was some desperate defending from the Argentines in the closing minutes.

But they held on and captain Messi could even afford to squander a late one-on-one with Courtois as his side progressed along with hosts Brazil and Germany, who went through on the other side of the draw on Friday.

FULL TIME

Argentina 1 (Higuain 8") Belgium 0

Argentina rode on a Gonzalo Higuain first-half goal to beat Belgium and book a place in the World Cup semi-finals on Saturday night.

It is the first time in 25 years that Argentina will be making the last four stage and they await the winners of the match between The Netherlands and Costa Rica.

Higuain scored the all-important goal as early as the 8th minute after Messi's artistry and guile mesmerised the Belgian players and Angel di Maria had his shot deflected to Higuain who took a crack to find the corner of the net.

90+4" Witsel hits it over and there goes Belgian hopes.

90+3" Messi misses a one-to-one with Courtois.

90+2" Belgium trying everything to get the equaliser but they haven't done enough to trouble Romero in the goal.

90" Five minutes added to injury time.

90" There is a clash between two Argentinian players and Palacio is being attended to.

89" Belgium waste another corner as Fellaini's futile shot is collected by Romero.

86" Belgian players being trapped off-side on too many occasions, six times to Argetina's one.

85" De Bruyne's shot is deflected for a corner.

83" Fellaini is in a good position to score but is pulled up for off side.

80" Argentina's hero Higuain is replaced to a thunderous applause. Gago comes in.

77" Argentina are just 13 minutes away from clinching a place in the last four.

74" Hazard is replaced and Belgium have made their three substitutions.

74" YELLOW! Biglia gets a yellow for no fault of his.

72" Belgium are running out of time and too many obstructions are resutling in free-kicks and time wasting.

70" Lavezzi is replaced by Palacio. 

68" YELLOW! Alderweireld is booked with a yellow and wil miss the next match if Belgium go through.

65" Garay almost scores an own goal but thanks to Romero's alertness who made his first safe.

62" Fellaini wins another aerial contest but is again off target.

60" Vertonghen cross from the left and Fellaini leaps over a defender to head but to his dismay it goes over.

57" Lavezzi is brought down but it goes unnoticed and while he is being attended Belgium make two substitutions. Lukaku for Origi and Dries Mertens for Mirallas.

53" Higuain could have added to his tally when he beat a defender and with only Courtois at his mercy his shot hit the crossbar and went over.

52" YELLOW! Hazard is booked for a rough tackle on Biglia.

51" Lavezzi cross goes abegging.

50" Higuain goes solo and his shot is deflected by a defender which looked at one stage going into goal.

47" Messi is off target with his second free-kick.

Gonzalo Higuain scored his first goal in six matches to give Argentina a 1-0 lead at half-time against Belgium in the World Cup quarter-final on Saturday.

Higuain scored in the 8th minute after Messi's artistry and guile left the Belgian players rooted to the ground and Angel di Maria had a crack at goal but the ball deflected off a defender and came in the path of Higuain who wasted no time in finding the far left corner of the net to leave a sprawling Courtois with no answer.

HALF-TIME

Argentina 1 (Higuain 8") Belgium 0

45+2" Referee blows the long whistle.

45" Two minutes added.

42" Mirallas misses quite a sitter here as his header from a Vertonghen cross just goes wide.

39" Messi's free-kick from just outisde the box goes over much to the relief of the Belgians.

35" An ice pack has been put on Di Maria's right knee. Precautions from the coach in case they progress.

33" Di Maria limps off after a couple of clashes with the hard-tackling Kompany and is replaced by Enzo Perez.

31" Argentina are showing some precision passing here and Lavezzi goes clear on the left and crosses but Kompany heads it out.

27" Messi finds Di Maria with a superb long through ball but Maria's strike in the box is blocked by Kompany.

25" De Bruyne tries a long shot which Romero does well to keep it away.

24" Messi covers a good 60 yards with the ball but is tackled by two defenders.

21" Di Maria tries to sell a dummy to the Belgium defence and does succeed but Higuain, not expecting it, is stranded.

19" Belgium earn their second corner and this time Kompany heads over.

17" Van Buyten makes a dashing run down the left and crosses but Garay stands tall to head it to safety.

14" Belgium get their first corner but its wasted as Fellaini floats it over and high above all the players. 

11" De Bruyne lets fly a powerful left footer but it lacks direction. Romero is yet to be tested under the Argentinian bar.

Argentina 1 (Higuain 8") Belgium 0

8" GOAL! Messi does the spadework again to find Di Maria whose shot deflects off a defender and Gonzalo Higuain latches on to it to beat Courtois. 

5" Belgium are more asertive but it is Argentina who have had a few, but futile, shots at goal.

2" Captain Kompany makes a good effort to stop a shot from Lavezzi after Messi showed his silken touch earlier to set Lavezzi through..

1" Witsel and Mascherano in a tug-of-war kind of situation and the ref comes charging in to stop any further exchanges.

Argentina in their usual light blue and white striped jersey wait for the Red Devils to get the match rolling. And here it goes as the whistle goes off by Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli.

Argentina gave first starts to Lucas Biglia, Martin Demichelis and Jose Basanta for their World Cup quarter-final against Belgium on Saturday and the Europeans stuck with Divock Origi in attack.

Center back Demichelis replaced Federico Fernandez and Basanta took the place of suspended left back Marcos Rojo, who collected a second yellow card in the 1-0 extra time win over Switzerland in the last 16. Biglia starts in midfield ahead of Fernando Gago.

Belgium made one change from the 2-1 extra time win over the United States in the previous round with attacking midfielder Kevin Mirallas starting ahead of Dries Mertens.

Striker Romelu Lukaku, who scored the crucial second against the US, again starts on the bench.

Sergio Aguero was back among the substitutes for Argentina after the forward missed the Swiss win because of a leg muscle injury.

TEAMS

Belgium: Courtois, Alderweireld, Kompany (captain), Vertonghen, Witsel, De Bruyne, Fellaini, Hazard, Mirallas, Van Buyten, Origi

Argentina: Romero, Garay, Zabaleta, Biglia, Di Maria, Higuain, Messi (captain), Mascherano, Demichelis, Lavezzi, Basanta

FAST FACTS

Five Fast Facts on what could become a true World Cup classic, courtesy Infostrada Sports.

> Diego Maradona’s second goal in the 1986 semifinal vs Belgium came in fourth in a Fifa vote of World Cup Goal of the Century in 2002. Maradona’s solo goal vs England in 1986 won that vote.

> This will be the first WC meeting between Belgium and Argentina with an attendance significantly lower than 100,000, as the Estádio Nacional in Brasília has a capacity of 68,000.
In 1982, around 100,000 people watched in Barcelona’s Camp Nou while in 1986 114,500 spectators were packed together in Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca.

> Argentina have won their first four matches of a World Cup for the second time after the inaugural World Cup in 1930. They lost the fifth match that year, 4-2 against Uruguay in the final.

> Lionel Messi (42 goals) will play his 91st match for Argentina, equalling Diego Maradona (91) in joint-sixth place all-time for the team. They both made their debut against the same opponents: Hungary, in 1977 and in 2005.

> Belgium, the smallest country by area at this World Cup, have already knocked out the two largest (USA in the KO stage, Russia in the group phase). They will now face Argentina, the fourth largest country at this World Cup (Brazil is larger).

PREVIEW

One of the most powerful and enduring World Cup photographs depicts Diego Maradona in possession of the ball, confronted by a posse of six panic-stricken Belgian defenders.

Thirty-two years after the picture was taken, Lionel Messi is set to sow similar terror into the Belgian defence as they face Argentina in Saturday's World Cup quarter-final in Brasilia.

Argentina are attempting to pass the quarter-finals stage for the first time since 1990 and their supporters are wondering whether Messi can take his side all the way to the title, just as Diego Maradona did for Argentina in 1986.

The Belgian connection has led to more comparisons between Maradona and Messi and the extent to which they carry their respective teams.

Although Belgium went on to win the match in which the photograph was taken, Maradona came back to haunt them four years later in 1986 when he scored both goals in a 2-0 semi-final win for Argentina, the second with an amazing run right through the centre of their defence.

Saturday's meeting at the Brasilia national stadium, in the dusty, arid centre of Brazil, will be the first since that game in Mexico City.

Messi's brilliance has been enough to get Argentina past Bosnia, Iran, Nigeria and Switzerland, but the Belgians, who are improving with every game, are a different proposition altogether.

Argentina will need some greater variety in attack, and maybe get more players forward, if they are to end their 24-year wait for a semi-final place.

Their second round with over Switzerland was basically a win for persistence when Angel Di Maria finally broke through at the end of extra-time, putting the finishing touch to a brilliant Messi run.

Alejandro Sabella's team had spent two hours trying to break down the resolute Swiss defence with basically the same method which involved Messi, Di Maria and Ezequiel Lavezzi running at defenders, then sending a cross into the area for the head of Gonzalo Higuain.

There were precious few quick-passing exchanges to open up the Swiss and the midfield pair of Javier Mascherano and Fernando Gago were an almost entirely destructive presence.

This meant that the over-worked Messi had to start most moves himself, often coming into his own half to pick up the ball.

With fullbacks Pablo Zabaleta and Marcos Rojo often staying put, Argentina found themselves outnumbered by Swiss defenders although they avoided getting caught out on the break.

Messi's form has been a stark contrast to his ineffective fellow forwards. Higuain and Rodrigo Palacio have yet to score, Sergio Aguero has already gone home because of injury and Di Maria was guilty of giving the ball away routinely against the Swiss before his goal.

Belgium, making their first quarter-final appearance since 1986, are cranking into gear and followed their three sluggish group stage wins with a far more impressive display against the United States in a breathless second-round match.

Coach Marc Wilmots said his side had already learned a lot from watching the Swiss.

"We are not working on Messi, we'll be challenging Argentina as a block. Switzerland showed how to play against them, they had a very good game," he said.

"I saw an Argentina side playing with three center backs, two fullbacks pressing up high and Di Maria given a free reign. But I also saw a lack of balance at times."

Defender Vincent Kompany believed his team could exploit Argentina's willingness to push forward. "If they decide to play their usual attacking game, we'll have a pretty good chance against them," he said.