On July 5, in the capital of Brazil, the third match of the quarterfinal stage of the football world championship took place. The national teams of Argentina and Belgium entered the field of the stadium in Brasilia.
The game began with attacks from the Argentines. South American footballers from the first minutes demonstrated pressure and desire to play quickly. The result was an early goal. On the 8th minute Higuain caught the ball rebound from the Belgian and struck the goal with the first touch. The ball hit exactly the far corner, and the numbers 1 - 0 lit up on the scoreboard.
After the goal was scored, the Argentines tried to play the first number for some time, but they did not create anything dangerous at the gates of the Europeans. The second half of the opening half was already another Argentina. South Americans began to play football that was unusual for them (too rational and inexpressive). The account suited the Argentines, which is why the South Americans gave up the initiative. However, this did not help Belgium create danger at Romero's gates. You can remember only one shot on target of the Argentines from an average distance. It should be noted that after the Argentines gave up the initiative, football became slow, boring and uninteresting for a neutral fan.
The first half ended with a minimal margin of Argentina 1 - 0.
At the beginning of the second half of the meeting, Belgium's desire to demonstrate bright, attacking football was not noticeable. Perhaps the Europeans were simply not allowed to do so. At the same time, the Argentines themselves continued to play almost on foot, without creating scoring chances at the gates of the Europeans. Everything was very pragmatic on the part of both teams.
One of the dangerous moments at the gate of the South Americans is Fellaini's header after a pass from the left flank. However, the ball missed the target. The gooey football lasted until about 80 minutes. Only at the end of the match, the Europeans undertook a semblance of storming the gate of the South Americans. But instead of creating a goal-scoring situation at the enemy's goal, the Europeans almost missed their own. Already in the condensed time, Messi went one-on-one with the Belgian goalkeeper, but he missed the moment and gave the Belgian team one last chance. In the last attack, the Europeans could benefit from themselves, but Lukaku's dangerous cross was interrupted.
The final score of the meeting 1 - 0 in Argentina's favor leads the South Americans to the semifinals for the winner of the Netherlands - Costa Rica pair. Messi's team again showed a lackluster performance, although the result was achieved. In both playoff matches, the Argentines barely managed to score two goals, so the fans of the Latin Americans hope that the team will add more, because it is necessary to win the football world championship.
