Argentina and Belgium Through to Quarter-Finals

Argentina and Belgium Through to Quarter-Finals

Argentina and Belgium Through to Quarter-Finals

📅02 July 2014, 08:54

The final two games in the Round of 16 took place last night, and just like the others in this round, they came down to the final few minutes.

The evening began with Argentina playing Switzerland. Argentina dominated possession throughout most of the match but the Swiss defended well and consistently denied Argentina their chances. Finally, after 103 minutes of play Argentina’s Angel Di Maria hit the ball home after a great pass from Lionel Messi. The Swiss attacked hard in the final few minutes of the match, and came incredibly close to scoring an equaliser when Dzemaili hit the foot of a post from inside the six-yard box.  But in the end Argentina held on to yet another narrow victory.

Next up was Belgium playing the USA. Once again it was a match full of drama but no goals until extra time. In the end Kevin de Bruyne scored the goal which finally broke the USA resistance in the second minute of extra time, 11 minutes later substitute Romelu Lukaku hit home another to secure the victory. However, the US never gave up. They kept attacking and managed a goal from substitute Julian Green in the 107th minute. There were then good chances for Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey to take the match to penalties, but Belgium just about held on to secure their spot in the next round.

It means that Argentina will now play Belgium in the quarter-finals on Saturday afternoon in Brasilia. With the way the Round of 16 has played out, it is likely that all remaining matches in the tournament will be extremely close and hard fought.

Results

Upcoming Quarter-Final Matches

France vs. Germany, Friday, 4 July 2014 – Match Preview
Brazil vs Colombia, Friday, 4 July 2014 – Match Preview
Argentina vs Belgium, Saturday, 5 July 2014 – Match Preview