It took a deflected pass by Angel Di Maria to
ricochet to Higuin who took a first time shot to the right hand side of
Courtois. The Belgian defence had gained possession and tried to carry the ball
through midfield. They were caught by a quick attack after an interception and
the ball was played to the dynamic DiMaria. The goalkeeper was slightly unsighted
as the surprise ball nestled to the left bottom corner.
The South Americans took a positive shape of
barricading off their central position and then controlled the match
professionally. The passed the ball efficiently and used it wisely from back to
front, left to right. The offensive job revolved around the menacing Messi runs
and the industrious Di Maria who injured his right thigh and retired.
Fellaini played behind Origi and his aerial
usefulness was made void by lack of crosses from both wings. While Argentina
did not make it easy by opening the wide area, the snail pace of the Belgians
in transition made it easy for defending as they had time to regroup and
organise their defensive shape.
The basic system made it easy for the central
defence to deal with Belgium as the central midfielders covered the two solid
men while giving freedom for the other two midfielders to execute their offensive
duties without stress. As much as it looked easy for Argentina, Belgium stars
were guilty for the sloppy show. Given their quality, they could have played
the match at a high tempo with greater accuracy and efficiency. Mirallas,
Hazard, Fellaini and De Bryun should be able to unlock any defensive door with
either great tactical ability or brute force.
Mascherano had a field day spraying the passes and
dominating the central position by simple accurate passing, releasing the other
midfielders to engage in the finishing of the attacks. Argentina closed all
passing lines and stayed ball-side as much as they could. They defended outside
the penalty area. Belgium had one option, to shoot from distance and then work
on the rebound. They failed to realise that despite taking one such shot that
was badly dealt by Romano. A few more similar attempts could have made the
former champions to shake up and probably get into a different defensive
approach, possibly unlocking their rear-guard.
There was no variation in the Belgium tactics. Neither
was there any rising of tempo nor versatility in the attacking pattern of the
Europeans. They stayed on normal mode the entire minutes, only fluctuating slightly
within the comfort zones of the Argentinians. The positive for the Belgians was
their defending. They stayed solid and disciplined, winning all crucial duels and
strangling the incisive runs of Messi. They doubled and tripled on him whenever
possible inside the final third.
The actual goal was a result of loss of possession
in midfield, too much space and time on the ball by Argentina. The Belgians
were guilty of taking time to funnel in and staying compact around the D-zone.
Di Maria was never pressurised as he attempted to pass wide to his right. The
central defence momentarily lost concentration as they failed to stay tight on
Higuin. While he took the shot early, there was no pressure within two metres
of the striker. That is suicidal at that level of the game if there are players
of that calibre.
Instead of charging towards Higuin, the defenders
showed their backs to the striker as he took the fatal shot. Courtois’s view
might have been obstructed, but he should have made an attempt despite seeing
the shot late. He made a few telling saves to save the Belgians the blushes and
embarrassing score-line.
Argentina joins hosts, Brazil and Germany in the
semi-final, while Costa Rica or the Dutch will join the trio after the later
fixture.
Hi,
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Thanks Christion, hope this helps many people.
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