Can Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria combine to get Argentina past Belgium? (Getty Images)
Argentina vs. Belgium |
Kickoff: 7/5, 12 p.m. ET |
Stadium: Mane Garrincha, Brasilia
Match Preview: 1 vs. 11 worked vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina. It worked vs. Iran. It worked vs. Switzerland.
But after Belgium's 110-minute shelling of Tim Howard's goal, it seems safe to assume that asking Lionel Messi to beat a team of the Red Devils' quality singlehandedly isn't going to work nearly as well as it has thus far in this World Cup for Argentina. Messi may have cemented his status as the world's best player in leading his team to the quarterfinals, but to make the semifinals, he's going to need help.
On paper, he shouldn't have any problem getting it. Gonzalo Higuain and Angel Di Maria are regarded as two of the game's most lethal attackers, two members of a strike force -- along with Messi and Sergio Aguero -- many referred to entering the tournament as the 'Fantastic Four.' But Higuain has been the next-closest thing to invisible, and while Di Maria is fresh off scoring the game-winner vs. Switzerland, that goal was entirely manufactured by Messi and was necessary to redeem the Real Madrid star after more than 100 minutes of drab ineffectiveness. Oh, and Aguero missed the Switzerland match entirely and is questionable with injury.
Making Messi and Co.'s task even more difficult is that Belgium's defense has looked fairly airtight when not under a furious last-ditch American onslaught; until Julian Green's extra-time tally the Belgians had given up just one goal in more than 360 minutes of play, with superstar centerback Vincent Kompany looking every bit one of the world's best.
On the other end, Argentina have only one defensive star -- veteran box-to-box midfielder Javier Mascherano -- and can't be excited about facing the array of attacking stars wielded by the Belgians. Eden Hazard hasn't lived up to the hype generated by his fantastic club season with Chelsea, but he hasn't needed to; Kevin De Bruyne was masterful against the US as a central playmaker, 19-year-old Divock Origi has already flashed immense potential as a striker with both physical power and a deft touch, and Dries Mertens, Marouane Fallaini, and substitute striker Romelu Lukaku -- who might get the start over Origi after dominating extra time vs. the Americans -- have all had their moments.
After the group stage, it was the Belgians who had all the talent necessary to make the semifinals -- or beyond -- on paper, but hadn't put things together on the field. After watching the Red Devils dominate the US in every possible fashion other than on the scoreboard, though, while Argentina struggled so mightily to fashion real chances against a passive Swiss side, a glance at the respective team sheets now seems to favor the Belgians.
But of course, Belgium doesn't have Lionel Messi. If he can power even this out-of-form Argentina past a team of the Red Devils' quality, it will be his greatest-ever achievement in an Albiceleste jersey -- and it will have him one step away from the World Cup final his country has dreamed of for a generation.
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