Argentina makes it to the quarters

Argentina edged past Switzerland 1-0 in their pre-quarter final match at Sao Paulo to seal their berth in the quarter finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. It took them 118 minutes to break the deadlock as the Swiss defense stood tall against the argentine attacks- against whatever was thrown at them.

At the end of minutes neither team could break the deadlock in spite making repeated attacks to their opponent’s defense. Argentina dominated the proceedings throughout the 90 minutes but failed to score because of stout defending from the Swiss and few spectacular saves from the keeper Benaglio. Switzerland also got their chances as they threatened to score on the break. Xherdan Shaqiri was having a great match playing a lone man upfront. Yet it remained 0-0 at the end of regulation time.

In the extra time the same story continued. With the shadows of another penalty shoot-out looming large, Argentina made the break-through. Angel Di Maria scored the all important goal in the 118^th minute as Lionel Messi turned out with a perfectly weighted pass after Litsteiner had given away the ball a bit too casually in the midfield. It’s Argentina 1 Switzerland 0. The drama was yet to be over though. With 3 minutes added on at the end of the extra time, Switzerland having fallen behind went forward in numbers and they almost got the equalizer when Dzemaili headed against the post after Shaqiri had floated in a well directed cross inside the argentine penalty area from a free-kick. Such was the poor luck of the Swiss that the rebound hit Dzemaili and went out.

And that was it. Argentina was into the quarter finals and the match which was not that much exciting eventually got a grandstand finish. The argentines had a narrow escape. The Swiss dream was devastated but they like all other pre-quarter finalists in this edition of the championship won a lot of hearts but failed to make it to the quarters.

• About the Author

About Argha Ghosh

An ardent follower of sports and die-hard Manchester United fan, Argha's ultimate dream is to watch a Manchester derby from the Stretford End at the Old Trafford.