Argentina vs Switzerland
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Arena de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo
Kick-off: 9.30 pm Sri Lankan Time
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden).
Referee: Jonas Eriksson (Sweden).
Lionel Messi has thus far provided a most convincing response to heavy pressure for a memorable performance on the World Cup stage. Now he will surely be hoping that a few more of his teammates can do likewise. In his third World Cup, Messi has for the first time matched the extraordinary heights he has reached regularly with Barcelona that made him a four-time World Player of the Year. With four of Argentina’s six goals in the group stage, he has emphatically carried his country’s hopes for a first World Cup since the Diego-Maradona-inspired triumph in 1986.
While Argentina will be looking for more Messi heroics, their opponents will be hoping that the man dubbed the “Alpine Messi” can inspire a famous upset. Xherdan Shaqiri is already in his second World Cup at the age of just 22, and last Wednesday made a big statement of his long-known talent with a hat-trick in the 3-0 dismissal of Switzerland. It was the first match in which the Bayern Munich man was handed a central role behind a strike from the start and he flourished.
With other exciting young players like Granit Xhaka and Josip Drmic also making positive impressions thus far, Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side certainly have plenty going for them in attack. The problem has been at the back. A shambolic 5-2 defeat to France in which they trailed 5-0 until late was a chastening experience for an inexperienced team with high expectations.
Argentina miss Sergio Agüero so Ezequiel Lavezzi will deputise again in a three-man attack.
Switzerland, last in the quarter-finals in 1954 - when they hosted the tournament - are without Steve von Bergen, injured against France, and Mario Gavranovic, who suffered a serious knee injury in training on Saturday.
There can be no doutbing who the favourites are.
In six previous meetings Argentina have scored 14 goals including three last time out, in 2012, when Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 win.
In theory it should also be a clean game; both sides have collected just one yellow card so far.
It may not be one-sided but with Messi present there can be only one winner.
Argentina (Possible, 4-3-3): Romero; Garay, Zabaleta, Rojo, Fernandez; Gago, Di Maria, Mascherano; Lavezzi, Higuain, Messi.
Switzerland (Possible, 4-4-2): Benaglio; Lichtsteiner, Rodriguez, Djourou, Schaer; Inler, Xhaka, Shaqiri, Behrami; Mehmedi, Drmic.
