Lionel Messi saved the team from embarrassment in the group stage match with a goal against Iran in the first minute of stoppage time. The "savior of the nation" against the tough, tough and fighting, but also tactically disciplined Swiss was Angel Di Maria.
In the 118th minute, Real's ace made the best use of Messi's assist, and for a place in the quarterfinals and a duel with the winner of tonight's duel between Belgium and the USA, he checked the excellent Diego Benalha, who until that moment was the best individual of his team.
"We were lucky tonight, we were able to win in extra time. It was a strange game, Switzerland was better in the first half, they played great, they had two great chances, and we were better in the second half of the game and deserved victory. Now we have to rest and prepare well for what awaits us in the quarter-finals," said Alejandro Sabelja, coach of Argentina.
Two minutes before the end of overtime, the Swiss practically made the only mistake of the match, losing the ball in the middle of the field, when Rodrigo Palacio (replaced Ezekiel Laveci in the 74th minute) cut off the opponent's action, went on the counter, and then passed the ball to Messi .
One of the best football players of all time then easily broke free of a guard in the run, entered the Swiss penalty area and then "on a plate" served the ball to Di Maria, who scored with his left to advance to the quarterfinals and scored his 10th goal in the shirt of the "gauchos".
"We did our best, we left our heart and soul on the field. We were in the game the whole time, we didn't give up for a minute. I think that's why this victory is fully deserved," Di Maria said.
However, the penalty shoot-out was a little short of deciding the winner. In the first minute of stoppage time, Blerim Džemaili hit the post with his head (the rebound hit him in the knee, and then ended up almost near the post), and for a moment froze the hearts of all Argentines in the stadium.
That was the last excitement in the match in which Argentina, as expected, had more ball possession (61 – 39 percent), but Switzerland was very disciplined in defense.
Otmar Hitzfeld's company (he led the team despite the fact that his older, 81-year-old brother Winfried died of leukemia a few hours before the match) was even more dangerous in the first half. The playful Xherdan Shaqiri was the main inspirer of most of the actions, so first in the 28th minute he assisted Granit Xhaka, who shot from the heart of the penalty area, but Sergio Romero stopped the shot with his left foot.
Ten minutes later, the Bayern striker played Josip Drmić on the counterattack, who, due to Romero's indecision, found himself in front of the Argentina goalkeeper, but did not successfully complete the action. The lob attempt was so bad that Romero had only to catch the ball. For Argentina, Gonzalo Higuain (25th minute) and Laveci (29th) were inaccurate in the first half.
Argentina started more decisively in the continuation, Marcos Rojo was very active on the left side with crosses, and from one such action in the 62nd minute came the best opportunity for Argentina, when Higuain headed an excellent shot, but Benalho reacted even better and kicked the ball into the corner.
Before that, Šaćiri and Drmić tried on one side, or Laveci and Roho on the other. Until the end of regular time, Messi was inaccurate twice (the first was an excellent shot from the edge of the penalty area, the ball went just over the crossbar, and the second shot was saved by Benalho) and Palacio.
Generalka before the decisive goal, Di Maria had in the 109th minute, but Benalho emerged as the winner, which he failed to do two minutes before the end of extra time...
"We made life difficult for them in this match. But, the Argentines managed to keep their cool until the end of the match, which shows that they are a good team. This was my last match in my coaching career. It was an honor to work for Switzerland. That's why I am proud I can greet Switzerland with a heart full of emotions," said Otmar Hitzfeld, the coach of the Swiss.
Brazil - Colombia, Netherlands - Costa Rica and France - Germany will meet in the other quarter-final duels.
The quarter-finals are scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
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