Day 19 (part 2!):-

Belgium vs. USA:-





The culmination of a rather tense and extremely tight set of matches in the round of 16 was more one-sided than any of the previous games as Belgium supremacy overran US spirit!


Both teams did not report any noticeable tactical changes, with Coach Marc Wilmots opting for speed over physicality at the spearhead of attack; Origi starting as Belgium’s main striker in place of Lukaku.

Coach Jürgen Klinsmann went with a more-balanced approach; as he deployed natural-CB Geoff Cameron in the only holding DM role, since Kyle Beckerman was suspended for this game.


The game took shape quite quickly as Belgium began pressing way-high up the pitch from early-on; looking to force their way through the US’ box as they searched for an early lead.

Team USA were trying to settle-down the game’s tempo every time they got hold off the ball in an attempt to subdue the Belgians’ attacking ferocity. Belgium, meanwhile, were unable to hold onto possession for a sufficient amount of time.

The game was being, more or less, fully controlled by the Belgians as time passed by. They were upping the tempo with their fast offensive movement at will; however, they were unable to convert numerous chances in front of goal.

The US were obviously depending on launching a counter-attack every now and then; but were looking increasingly vulnerable at the back!

They attempted to press Belgium higher up the pitch as the half faded-out, with a view to attack more as the Bradley-Dempsey fulcrum dictated play down the middle; but, ultimately, the lack of physical presence in Belgium’s box (a consequence of Dempsey dropping deep to initiate play) made it difficult for them to score a goal.

Belgium started the first half with ferocious pace; barely allowing the US any time to properly adapt to the game. However, they lost possession in key areas sometimes and were too wasteful with the scoring opportunities they had!

Team USA slowly grew into the game; successfully slowing Belgium’s tempo at times while playing on the break for the most part. They, too, were unable to make the most of one or two really good chances in front of goal.

The second half began in a very similar fashion to the first; the Belgians pressing high from the off, but, again, unable to find the right pass into the box as the lack of a proper physical striker was beginning to hinder their offensive approach (think Lukaku!).

The match turned into a completely one-sided affair from that point, with Belgium coming closer and closer to scoring a goal with incredible misses and even more incredible saves from Tim Howard.

The US were nowhere close to being lethal enough up front; as Dempsey continuously dropped deep and left spaces in the box, which were then not occupied by anyone capable of finishing-off their attacks!

Belgium continued to attack in waves as Team USA defended deep; but the Belgians were lacking a real “cutting edge” to their forward momentum as they seemed unable to break through the US’ defense, while they were also in dire need of more precision in front of goal.

The shortage of urgency in Belgium’s build-up play, coupled with the missing physical presence in the final third (again, think Lukaku!) and the fact that they were too wasteful with chance after chance on goal, all hampered their chances of ever scoring a goal as Tim Howard was the only man performing on the US team.

It was an utterly one-sided story in the second half as Belgium tore the US apart in terms of chances created; but it was all pointless as they wasted most of them and were denied others by some great heroic saves from Tim Howard.

Team USA defended well at times but barely offered anything of notice in attack; being too passive in their approach and they only have their GK to thank for keeping the score at 0-0 after 90 minutes.

Lukaku, FINALLY, came on at the start of the first half of extra-time to inject that much needed physical presence in Belgium’s attacks.

It did not take that long though for the substitution to pay off, as Lukaku used his physique (surprise surprise :P) to force his way through the US’ box, after a quick counter-attack, and passed the ball to De Bruyne; who then pulled-back almost 3 US defenders, before turning and shooting for a 1-0 lead.

The US responded by trying to quickly press Belgium into their own half, but it was not working very well; for they were unable to create anything of notice from open play and were losing possession of the ball way too easily, amidst some very compact and sturdy Belgian defense.

Another quick counter-attack saw De Bruyne assisting Lukaku this time! The Belgium striker then blasting the ball past a distraught Howard for an unassailable (or so the Belgians thought!) 2-0 lead.

Lukaku was the obvious game-changer in that first half of extra-time; offering Belgium the missing element of physicality their play has been craving for so long prior to the substitution.

Meanwhile, the US were just too flat at the back and, fatigue or no fatigue, they were not able to do much with the ball as they lacked true creativity from midfield.

Just after the second half of extra-time began, the US brought the game back to life with a long ball from Bradley over and above Belgium’s backline, with youngster Green timidly volleying it into the back of the net to ensure a nail-biting end to this game (Alderweireld being at fault for that goal as he was too static in his reaction)!

Team USA threw bodies forward and were not holding anything back, while the Belgians suddenly began to look extremely flakey and nervous in defense, even though that they were still very dangerous on the break.

The US gave it their all in attack as they pumped urgency and flair into their offensive approach; but, sadly for them, it was not meant to be as the game came to an end.

Belgium were clearly the better side for well over 105 minutes of the game and should have concluded the game way earlier, had they not missed so many chances in front of goal.

The US, as always, showed real spirit in fighting back and did fairly okay in defense for most parts of the game (Tim Howard being especially brilliant).


Man of the match (the obvious choice would have been the aforementioned US GK, had Team USA won or even tied!):-

Kevin De Bruyne: He was directly involved in both of Belgium’s goals and was at the center-stage of almost every Belgian attack!

Day 19:-

Argentina vs. Switzerland:-





Yet another match of 120 minutes which could have gone either way had one team (or the other) done a thing or two differently!


There weren’t any significant tactical changes for either side, and as far as their line-ups were concerned, Lavezzi was the only man who started his first match at this WC; as Sergio Agüero has been ruled out of the competition due to injury.


The “big picture” of the game was drawn from the very first minutes as Argentina piled pressure on the Swiss, who were happily defending deep with almost 11 men behind the ball; waiting for counter-attacks once retaining possession from defensive zones.

Switzerland were constantly unable to hold onto the ball amidst the Argentinians’ pressing game, while they also often lost individual duels in midfield and in attacking areas.

Argentina were not threatening Switzerland’s goal properly; simply because they were focusing too much on attempting to get into the Swiss box from out wide and not trying to launch more attacks from central areas.

Switzerland, on the other hand, were not offering much in way of offensive moves for a while; as they were somewhat stuck in their midfield and unable to “kick” the momentum into high-gear!

That slowly began to change as Shaqiri found his way (more than once) through Argentina’s right defensive flank.

Meanwhile, Argentina were relying on aerial play from almost all areas of the final third; but their passing was not decisive and they were lacking a sense of aggressiveness and urgency.

It was a relatively very tactical first half, with the Swiss playing a compact and very organized game. They were, however, not committing enough bodies forward in their counter-attacks and kept losing possession cheaply due to some sloppy passing (Mehmedi was rather poor in attack!).

Argentina defended better than what was expected from them (based on their defensive displays in the group-stage); but they still seemed vulnerable on the flanks though. In attack, they were over-reliant on aerial balls and needed more urgency by engaging the Swiss defenders more and attempting to attack centrally via through balls on the ground.

The second half began by inheriting the first half’s tempo and rhythm; Argentina still being too slow in their build-up play and Switzerland still lacking precision in front of goal.

The Argentineans’ rather increased element of width in their offensive approach was somewhat of an obstacle for them in terms of reaching the Swiss goal; as Switzerland’s SBs were easily dealing with their play down either channel.

The Swiss were somehow slowing their own tempo when going on the counter due to a lack of physical presence up front (especially on the left where Mehmedi was not performing well in offense).

It took a while, but, eventually, Argentina began to find more and more spaces in the Swiss defense; but they were still pointlessly relying on aerial play and not providing enough urgency!

Switzerland were, at this point, very subdued in attack and unable to get proper passes forward.

As the half came to a close, the Argentineans started to play with more urgency, with Messi creating space for himself from which he would launch attacks once given the ball; but the team, as a whole, were missing that crucial final touch in the box.

Meanwhile, Switzerland did not launch a single attack during that period; allowing Argentina possession and somehow refusing to press them amidst some pretty static play to say the least!

It was a better second half from Argentina in attack as they eventually switched to a more central style of play; but they were undone by a lack of physical presence in the Swiss box from their main strikers.

Switzerland barely threatened Argentina’s goal and were too flat going forward, as well as lacking clear urgency on the break.

Extra-time began with the Swiss pressing higher up the pitch and not allowing Argentina the same ball possession they had enjoyed before.

However, the game’s tempo was subdued by the Argentinians as they passed the ball around; looking to avoid early exhaustion!

Neither team was risking too much, while both teams’ defenses were doing their jobs.

Switzerland were not committing any extra bodies forward and Argentina were not pressing them too much either; preferring to attack from deep areas.

The second half of extra-time saw Argentina go all-out in attack from the kick-off, as if they were trying to fully expend every remaining shred of energy left in them!

The Swiss were too slow on the break though and seemed out of options in attack.

At a time when both teams’ urgency of play seemed to significantly drop due to an almost tangible sense of fatigue, the unthinkable happened as Lichtensteiner (who was having a good game so far!) lost possession to Palacio in a crucial area!

Palacio then quickly passed the ball to Messi, and the Argentine captain went on one of his trademark dazzling runs towards the goal before playing Di María through on the right, who placed it low on the opposite side before a distraught Benaglio (who had an EXCELLENT game between the posts!).

The Swiss attempted to immediately throw bodies forward and almost got the goal they deserved had it not been for the Argentinian right post!

All in all, a somewhat deserved win for Argentina as they fully pressed on the pedal in that second half of extra-time. The Swiss were undone by a tiny lapse in concentration that lead to that fatal mistake; as, otherwise, they put in a very respectable performance.

It was a sad ending for them, and, truthfully, a very bitter way for Coach Hitzfeld to retire!


Man of the match: Lionel Messi: He had a good all-round game and did more than what was asked of him as he, yet again, lead his (rather underperforming) team to victory.