Argentina through to semi-final beating Belgium 2-1 in 2014 Brazil World Cup

Argentina strolled into the semi-final courtesy of a pedestrian Belgian performance. While the Europeans had big names in their line-up but they played for their names rather than the flag. The biggest downfall was trying to penetrate the Argentinian defence through the middle and ignoring attacking through the wings to deliver crosses for Fellaini to head.

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.  

Algeria surrender points to Belgium 2-1 in 2014 Fifa World Cup

Belgium played possessional but sterile football as they stroked the ball around without any meaningful penetration. Algeria kept a very compact shape, employing all men behind the ball. They retreated into a cocoon stationed behind the centre line. They shifted across screening the ball to the wide positions but in front of them. Their midfielders formed a formidable wall as a first line of defence, with the defenders sweeping behind for each midfielder. They only engaged when the ball was being passed between Belgians, moving in very quickly to bite.

Instead of the consisted pressure in the opponents’ half, the Europeans held the key to unlock their way to victory. All they needed to do is to create space behind the Africans’ defence and go wide around the wings for crosses. This could easily be achieved by playing the ball in their own half and invite Algeria to move out of their good defending positions and then go around the defence. Algeria depended on counter attacks.

Winning the ball around the centre circle, they placed a pass in the left pocket and delivered a pinpoint cross by Ghoulam that eluded the two central defenders and bounced in the penalty box. Vertonghen tracked Feghouli’s run on the far post and bungled the Algerian from the back. The referee awarded a penalty kick and yellow carded the Belgian. The Algerian rose, dusted himself and calmly beat the giant Atletico Madrid goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois who dived the wrong way.

The second half saw the Algerians alter their tactics to suit the Belgian football. They moved their engagement line a little up field, opening a reasonable gap between the goalkeeper and the defence. The Europeans did not make much use of the space, though they seemed to find their mojo as their rhythm became more fluid. That window of opportunity vanished for a moment as they failed to recognise and use the possible fatal tactical weakness.

Algeria could have regrouped and retained their compactness reducing spaces between the defenders and between each unit (defence, midfield and attack). The contraction could frustrate the Belgians even more as they resorted to committing fouls and playing long balls from midfield down the flanks. One such long ball got to a crossing position and Manchester United’s Fellaini met the cross with precision to beat Rais M’Bolhi for the equaliser.  

Until then, M’Bolhi, the Algerian goalkeeper had many shot-stopping sessions, only efficiently dealing with a real threat from substitute Divock Origi. After the equaliser, the Algerian orientation was out of the window. They panicked and opened more spaces at the back and became extremely vulnerable.

To their detriment, they lost possession in the attacking area hoping for a free kick. Hazard raced half the pitch and picked the intelligent run of Mertens on the right in a three versus two situation. The substitute met and controlled the ball and finished with a ferocious shot to the roof of the net. Thenceforth, Algeria had fewer men behind the ball while Belgium found all the gaps to play the ball and run into.

After all the first time trouble, it became all so easy in the end for the star-studded Belgium side that fielded Dembele, Vertonghen, Lukaku, Kompany, Chadli, Witsel, and still had the luxury of Origi, Januzaj. Mignolet and Fellaini among many on the bench. It must be said that the Algerians had control of the match but threw it away.