Alejandro Sabella’s Argentina side do enough to see off ‘dark horses’ Belgium in a 1-0 victory.
Sergio Romero 6 – Didn’t have an entirely large amount to do, his defence and midfield did most of the work for him.
Pablo Zabaleta 6 – Unusually quiet game for the Manchester City defender, took him over an hour to get his first decent cross in on goal.
Martín Demichelis 6 – Barely heard his name all game, but did the job that was necessary of him.
Ezequiel Garay 7 – Always wanted to put himself on the line, played, intercepted and tackled brilliantly.
José María Basanta 6 – Never faced a real problem, but dealt with any that came his way.
Lucas Biglia 6 – Played well alongside Mascherano, but still didn’t do enough to help his team in going forward.
Javier Mascherano 7 – Typically good in that defensive midfielder role, distributed the ball really well.
Ezequiel Lavezzi 6 – Had a fairly good game, enjoying that left wing. Put in some decent crosses but couldn’t quite create anything monumental.
Lionel Messi 7 – Always going on his usual mazy runs and causing the opposing team problems. Showed what a good passer of the ball he is too.
Ángel di María N/A – Looked really bright from the start and much better than he did against Switzerland, but was forced off through injury just over half an hour into the game.
Gonzalo Higuaín 8 – After such a great goal he deserves a good rating. Should have doubled his tally but could only clip the bar, otherwise was quiet.
SUBS
Enzo Pérez 5 – Had absolutely no impact after his substitution.
Rodrigo Palacio 4 – Really should have helped seen the game out for Argentina, but only came on and caused more problems.
Fernando Gago – N/A
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