Argentina was in Group F of the World Cup with teams like Nigeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iran in them. They were clearly the favorites to qualify on top of the table into the Last 16 stage and so they did! They won all their three group games, thanks to Messi’s remarkable contribution towards the goal.
Group Stage:
Match 1: Messi and co. were pitted against Bosnia and Herzegovina in their opening game of the tournament and the former won the match 2-1, courtesy of an own goal from a Bosnian player and another wonderful goal from Messi created by Gonzalo Higuain.
Take a look at the highlights of the game:
Match 2: Alejandro Sabella’s side next played against Iran who weren’t expected to be any trouble for the mighty Argentines, but then, they did, and they caused huge trouble and almost walked away with a point if not for a defensive lapse by the Iranian back line which the star Lionel Messi capitalized on to score a beautiful goal from outside the box that took a deflection into the top right corner and inside the net.
Match 3: Argentina played their final group game against Nigeria. This game was the best Argentina had so far considering a below par opening two games. Argentina won 3-2 as it rained goals with Messi, again, scoring 2 goals to save his country from the brink.
Last 16:
Argentina played Switzerland in the Last 16 stage of the tournament and picked up a narrow 1-0 victory for which they were made to work very hard. The usual 90 minutes weren’t enough for the game hence it progressed into Extra 30 minutes. Switzerland was almost successful in holding the Argentines down but Angel Di Maria managed to find the decisive goal in the 118th minute with help from Messi to put his team into the Quarter Finals.
Here’s an animated rendering of highlights of the game:
Quarter-Finals:
The South Americans faced Belgium in the Quarter-Finals who too had had a 100% winning record in the tournament. Argentina managed to score an early goal in the 8th as Gonzalo Higuain stepped up at the right moment to give his country the lead. Belgium tried to equalize on numerous occasions but failed due to a resilient Argentinian defense.
Semi-Finals:
The team faced Netherlands in the semi-final. The match took it course into the Penalty shoot-outs as both teams failed to score in the allotted 90+30 minutes. Argentina, however, with the heroics of their goal keeper Sergio Romero and his two golden saves set their final destiny after 28 years against Germany.
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