Belgium were considered a dark horse for the World Cup title before the tournament. Now, they are a legitimate contender. Amongst the teams to qualify for the quarterfinals, they, aside from Colombia, were perhaps the most impressive. Had Tim Howard not stood tall between the posts time and time again, Belgium would have definitely beaten the USA in normal time.
Coming into the Round of 16 clash, the most common complaint regarding Belgium was their lack of cohesion on the pitch. In the match itself, the players gelled wonderfully.
To Marc Wilmots' credit, he decided to give Romelu Lukaku a second chance when the match entered extra time. Lukaku, after his poor opening day performance against Algeria, showed his true colors. He set up Kevin de Bruyne and then scored a second himself, a priceless goal which proved to be the match winner.
Belgium does not have a specific weakness. The team is strong in all departments. They are not overreliant on one player as well. The team's six goals have come from six different players. This is in stark contrast to Argentina; Lionel Messi has scored four of Argentina's seven goals to date, two of which were match winners. He has had to drag his team through the opening rounds.
Alejandro Sabella will be thankful that at least one more of his stars showed up against Switzerland in Angel di Maria. In that match, Argentina were caught out time and time again by Swiss counterattacks. Belgium's counterattacking abilities outrank the Swiss'. Argentina will have to tighten up at the back; otherwise, Belgium will easily exploit the holes there.
Anthony Vanden Boore is out for Belgium; Marcos Rojo is suspended for Argentina. Sergio Aguero might return to lead the line for the South Americans. One factor which might work for Argentina and against Belgium is the "youth factor". Many of the players in Belgium's squad are playing in their first ever World Cup. Young players either excel in high pressure situations or allow the enormity of those very situations to get in their way. Wilmots will hope his side play as freely as they did in the Round of 16.
If Jan Vertonghen is to be believed, Belgium will certainly not be scared, according to the BBC:
"We are a team that is difficult for an opponent to play against. We are certainly not scared."
"We have to stand together. If Messi gets past one of us, there must be a second and third player to stop him."
Where to watch the match: Live Streams, Live Scores, Start Times, TV Channels:
Watch Argentina vs Belgium live on Saturday, July 5, 2014:
In the US at 12.00 EST on:
- On TV: ESPN Deportes, Univision Deportes USA, Univision USA, ABC
- Online & Apps:ESPN Deportes+, ESPN3 Online-App, Univision Deportes En Vivo, WATCH ESPN, WATCH ABC
- Audio / Radio: ESPN Deportes Radio, ESPN Radio, SiriusXM FC, Futbol de Primera Radio
In Canada at 12.00 ET on:
- On TV: CBC, Mediaset Italia, Univision Canada, TLN
- Online & Apps: CBC Sports Live Streaming, ICI Radio-Canada En Direct,
- Audio / Radio: TSN 690 Montreal, TSN 1200 Ottawa, TSN 1050 Toronto, Radio Canada - CBC, TEAM 1410 Vancouver
In the UK at 17.00 BST on:
- On TV: ITV 1 UK
- Online & Apps: The ITV Player
- Audio / Radio: BBC Radio 5 Live, TalkSport Radio
In Australia at 02:00 (Sunday) on:
- On TV: SBS One Australia
- Audio / Radio: SBS Radio 1, SBS Radio 2, SBS Radio 3, SBS Radio 4
For complete details of match listings and live scores, visit the Japan vs Greece match page.
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