02/07/2014 Match of the Day

Good morning. The last two places in the quarterfinals of the World Cup

programmes last. Martin Keown is with me. We will show you Belgium

against the USA later. We will start with the game in Sao Paulo,

Argentina against Switzerland. Watched by Mark Lawrenson and

Jonathan Pearce. Can Lionel Messi become the first

man since 1930 to score in four successive Argentine World Cup final

matches? It is a wonderful, raucous and thrilling atmosphere inside the

ground. Argentina have made one change with Sergio Aguero ruled out

with a five strain. Ezekiel Lavezzi replaces him. They are looking to

make the last eight for the sixth time in eight finals. Switzerland

have never won a game beyond the opening-round of the World Cup or

European Championship. Fabian Schar brought in to shore up that leaking

defence. He stays in there, I'm changed. They have lost just twice

in 21 games. Over the last two years. We've had 20 minutes and

nothing is really happening. Another corner kick. Argentina came out all

over the place. Two against one, from a corner kick. Back into the

bottom and that is a good save. And again, Sergio Romero called into

action. I don't think he saw that second one until late. The first one

was good because he could only save it with his feet. Still going, he

stayed on his feet. Switzerland on the counterattack. Josip Drmic, the

keeper stayed back. And that was a very weak finish. He is fortunate,

Romero. He thought about it again, and in the end, it is such a poor

finish from Josip Drmic. Gokhan Inler with a lovely ball forward.

Shaqiri, the flag has stayed down. Josip Drmic. By the time he gets the

ball, the angle has been closed down. It is virtually impossible to

score from there. It was a narrow angle. What will Alejandro Sabella

be thinking about at the moment, with his team? What is he doing?

Showboating. He cannot be serious. If you were his team-mate, you would

be going bananas, would you not? That is the first time they have got

behind Rodriguez, for the whole game. That is a better ball in and

the keeper has to save well. It was a much better ball in. He stole half

a yard on the Swiss defence. Lionel Messi going into the gap the catered

by Lavezzi. Gonzalo Higuain, and another big chance has come and

gone. Lionel Messi! They are almost playing a front three now,

Argentina, Zabaleta, following that up. Seven

Swiss players in their own penalty area, plus the goalkeeper. The

goalkeeper blocks. Argentina claim a penalty. The goalkeeper is injured,

that is the first thing. The Swiss are complaining about a foul on the

goalkeeper. Rodrigo Palacio came in for the rebound. Was there a foul on

him? Three minutes of added time signalled.

I wonder whether they will let Fabian Schar, the centre-half, he is

standing offside at the moment, he has got himself back onside. In it

comes towards Fabian Schar. Lavezzi was well pleased, wasn't he? He

could not keep it down. That is one backed by Lionel Messi. And the

final whistle blows of the 90 minutes. We will have an extra 30

minutes of extra time. Argentina and Switzerland, 0-0. Lionel Messi. Can

you change it in the blink of an eye? Angel Di Maria, he has gone for

it. Splendid save. He has redeemed himself in one sweet moment there,

Angel Di Maria. He struck it well, but it is a comfortable save.

Rodrigo Palacio, back to the substitute left-back.

Angel Di Maria. He cut inside. That came off Johan Djourou, didn't it? I

think so. He did well, actually. Lionel Messi with the corner kick.

Away to Angel Di Maria. Never in a month of Sundays. For a player who

had such a magnificent season with Real Madrid, a magnificent Champions

League final. Lionel Messi with the run. Can he finally win it? And it

is Angel Di Maria! As soon as it broke away from Switzerland and went

to the feet of Lionel Messi, you thought something might happen. It

is as though he knew exactly where he was going. Once he goes, Lionel

Messi, he waits, and that is a great finish. For a boy who has had such a

bad day, that is a sensational finish, because he could have

panicked, and he just placed the ball past the goalkeeper. That is a

cool finish in the circumstances. Well it may not be the winning goal.

He has had an absolute stinker. That is a cynical foul on Rodriguez. We

are into the last ten seconds. Three minutes of stoppage time. Gokhan

Inler with the free kick. That came off Haris Seferovic. You could tell

by the way that they were rushing to get the ball. The goalkeeper is up.

Up comes the good in. -- Diego Benaglio. That was an adventurous

overhead. The goalkeeper is still up there. Unbelievable! Blerim Dzemali

could not connect with the rebound. None of the Argentine players went

for it. They had no idea what happened. That is such a good

header. It was down and away from the goalkeeper. How unlucky is

that? Switzerland, like Algeria, Nigeria, Mexico,

that? Switzerland, like Algeria, close, only to fail at the last

hurdle. Rodriguez put, and the goalkeeper has stayed up there. Now

Angel Di Maria is beyond one defender. He has gone for it. He has

not scored, but he is wasting valuable seconds. Still, the Swiss

push on. Haris Seferovic. Xherdan Shaqiri, onto his left foot, he is

brought down by Ezekiel Garay. He is claiming a dive. Where does the

goalkeeper stand. Xherdan Shaqiri to keep Switzerland in it. Argentina

celebrate. Argentina are through. It is all over. This therefore Diego

Benaglio, beating after 118 minutes. And Angel Di Maria, Argentina into

the quarterfinals again. 1-0, four Argentina against Switzerland. It

was not the greatest of games, but like so many Argentina games,

settled by a moment of brilliance by Lionel Messi. It was a great run

from him and Angel Di Maria does the rest, a player who was out of sorts

in the match. He did not realise how badly he was playing. It was such a

bad evening for him. And the bad evening in general for Argentina.

You cannot see them winning the competition. But they have got into

the next round, and Lionel Messi is a revelation. I thought he was

trying to take people on a little bit too much, but they got there, in

the end. Is there a danger for the Argentina players that no matter how

badly they feel that they are playing themselves, they expect

Lionel Messi to get them out of it. He can attract offenders and shift

the ball quickly and make space for others. Gonzalo Higuain is

completely out thought. They need Sergio Aguero back from injury.

Lionel Messi cannot keep doing it all on his own. If they want to win

it, they are going to have to regroup. In that first game against

Bosnia he was described as changing the game. He has not scored an

international goal for 11 months. He does not look like he is going to

change that any time soon. Mascherano is playing well in them

at field. -- in their midfield. I would like the best place to be

still in there, and he is certainly one of them. That left 1/4-final

place Upper grabs. Who would be the opponents of

place Upper grabs. Who would be the opponents Argentina in the last

eight, Belgium or the USA? Time for a superhero. In a nation's time of

need, 23 men have come together from across the globe to wear the red,

white and blue in the fight for glory. From England, from Germany,

superhuman strength from within and from Captain America himself,

lightning strikes and a will to win. Together this force field shielding

them from the threat of elimination. The leader on this quest is a true

World Cup superhero. But they will have to have their wits about them

as they face the inventive and fearless stars of Belgium. They will

be hoping to make the headlines and live up to their billing as genuine

contenders for the trophy. They have been far from exceptional but they

seem to have the inside story on their opponents. With their faces

familiar all about the world, there can be no hiding place if they find

themselves in a tricky spot, tonight. In this long overdue World

Cup sequel, these two nations will do battle for supreme justice in

Salvador. been in front for a total of 24

minutes so far. On the whole, their performance has been a

disappointment, none more though the Romelu Lukaku. Vincent Kompany is

fit after having a niggling groin injury. The United States have one

one, drawn one and lost one. Geoff Cameron is on in midfield and

Alejandro Bedoya is the only other change. The earliest goal Belgium

scored with the 78th minute winner against South Korea. The kid nearly

scored by 40 seconds there! That is the pace he's got. A good save from

Tim Howard. Good interplay with Bradley. Couldn't quite get it out

off his feet. A comfortable save for devout core draft. -- Thibaut

Courtois. They are in real trouble here. Kevin De Bruyne puts it wide.

That was a brilliant chance. Loses it midfield.

That is beautiful. Jan Vertonghen could've pulled it back, instead it

is a way. DaMarcus Beasley did well. Lovely ball in by Jan Vertonghen. It

was tempting and inviting and two of them went for it and neither of them

got a touch. He does have options off the bench and he's used well,

the Belgium coach. Three of his substitutions have scored for him in

the tournament so far. A great header, just nudged the top of the

crossbar. Much better pressure from Belgium. A good save by Tim Howard

there. They are really up against it at the moment, the United States.

That would've been the goal of the tournament. That would've been as

good as anything we've seen. Great technique, this.

Lovely footwork by Kevin Mirallas. Just get fit into the ground, it's

not a clean strike. He will be disappointed by that. Normally the

closer you get to 90 minutes, the more cagey and cautious it gets, but

no sign of that. Lovely ball, Kevin Mirallas onside

and I think Tim Howard got something on it. He did, it will be a corner.

What a save. Three times now, Tim Howard. Jermaine Jones has made

What a save. Three times now, Tim great run. Vincent Kompany comes

across to say that is enough of that. Superb defending from Binns

Co. He read that so well. -- from Vincent Kompany.

Hold on, here is Romelu Lukaku. And it is 1-0 Belgium! Kevin De Bruyne!

Great finish. Batman Romelu Lukaku causing the problems. Strength and

power, fresheners. They couldn't cope with it. I actually thought he

was going to go on his own. Really composed, isn't it. Yes, that is the

perfect world. -- the perfect word. Top goal-scoring.

2-0! Belgium is heading to Brasilia, where they will face

Argentina. Romelu Lukaku would be second surely winning goal. Takes

his time, a perfectly weighted pass. That is exactly the finish we would

expect at the season at Everton. Confident, powerful. You can see the

smile on his face. Oh, Diaz scored! What a fantastic

goal and! Julian Green for the United States! What a moment for

that young man. Onside. Just off the edge of his town. -- his toe. Listen

that young man. Onside. Just off the to the noise. Cameron is driving

forward. Oh, it is just wide. It is wide by a whisker. Jermaine Jones. I

can't believe what I'm watching. Talk about turning a game around.

Howard again. Howard again. Two of them couldn't stop him, but Howard

did. Jones blocked by Vincent Kompany. A free kick for the USA.

The Belgium manager looks more nervous than he did five minutes

ago. They were virtually celebrating it. A brilliant save! What a free

kick! That is the best free kick in the World Cup so far. And if you

want anyone on the end of it, it is Thibaut Courtois. What a ball.

Belgium are through. But what a scare. They are then run into the

ground, the Belgians. We will come onto the side that won that game in

just a moment but you have to give something to the USA their work.

Truly amazing. They are so proud, the Americans. They just did not

know when they would beat in. I don't think anybody wanted it to go

to extra time, but once it did, I wanted them to take it back. Their

attitude, they are never beaten. You could see their manager losing and

squeezing out a little bit more from his team. They were so unlucky they

didn't take it to penalties in the end. They were unlucky because they

had chances. The free kick they had was incredibly well worked. Yes,

Jones in that midfield, Gonzales at the back. Bradfield, the midfield

maestro. Let's just hope the game continues to grow there. We wanted

to be the number one sport in America. Yet again, Belgium reliant

on a substitute, Romelu Lukaku who came on and change the game. To be

honest, he's been like a pussy cat so far. Tonight, he changed. He was

angry and he is a frightening sight. He is really at the top of his form.

It will be interesting to see if he starts the next match. Kevin De

Bruyne at the end grabbing the goal they needed in extra time. So often,

the goal comes early in that extra time period. No, it's been a

fantastic competition. Looking forward now to the latter stages. As

Martin says, it gets better and better. We are down to the last

eight. One of these teams will be your World Cup winner. We will see

you at the weekend. The post! Brazil win in the most

romantic of circumstances. This was not joy. This was pure relief. Are

in chanting game is a universal language. Wherever you are, the same

emotions stir. We wonder at the genius. Magic! Sheer brilliance!

There is devastation at defeat seized from the jaws of victory.

They have broken Mexican hearts. We have welcomed the world to our

beautiful country, but it is time for some to leave. No one wants to

go home early. Not yet. Those that remain continue with the carnival.

go home early. Not yet. Those that This should be fun, no? Only in

victory.