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ARGENTINA vs SWITZERLAND: click here for the Live Match Centre
OFF THE POST!! Switzerland, nearly! 120+1 minute
Cross comes in and Dzemaili takes the header which thumps the base of the post and rebounds back into him but he can't react in time and it's gone out. Tell you what, this is an insane few minutes of football.
GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLL!!!!! 118 minutes
Lichsteiner gets robbed near the halfway line on the Argentine left wing and the ball is quickly passed to Messi who shows a typical burst of pace to beat two men and slip in Di Maria who'se bombing in from the right and slots it past Benaglio low and hard into the far post. 1-0 to Argentina. Heartbreak for the Swiss.
Messi run and cross comes to nothing - 115 minutes
Messi has been invisible for the last few minutes — however, he did run at the Swiss defence in the 110th minute, drifting to the left steadily before sending a low diagonal in the box which was easily cleared. The Swiss look assured in defence.
Stat: Only nine WC matches, with extra time, have ended with no goals. Argentina was in one (1990) and Switzerland was in another (2006).
Di Maria shot... Benaglio to the rescue! 108 minutes
Di Maria, who started the match on the left but has been on the right for most of it, cuts inside and takes a stinging shot which Benaglio tips over at full-stretch. Wow.
HT in extra-time
Rojo comes off for Basanta who will make his 12th appearance. The Argentinians had one last break but Di Maria's ball to the centre cleared away by Djorou who has had a cracking match. 15 more minutes and tell you what, Argentina need something special -- most likely from Messi.
Half-chances here and there but nothing concrete - 98 minutes
A freekick each for both sides result in headers going towards goal but it's nothing concrete -- Benaglio having to deal with the tougher header from the two but he gets down to his right and has his far post covered. Messi still hasn't found that yard of space on his left foot to open up Switzerland's defence or hit the back of the net.
Stat: Argentina have been on the winning side in five of their six World Cup games that have gone to extra-time.
And we're into extra time!
Messi shows some dazzling skill to put Palacios through again but the Swiss crowd out the striker -- that's been the story of the match so far. Switzerland have defended the zones very well — marking target men but allowing Argentina to play around if the passing isn't looking dangerous. It was a smart tactic to survive for 90 minutes, but the next 30 will be the real test.
Messi, oh, oh, oh, saved! 79 minutes
Messi sets up Palacios as soon as he comes on for Lavezzi but the header's just wide. Argentina's next attack starts and ends with Messi as he collects the ball outside the area, goes to his left -- beating one, two, three men -- before sending a low shot which is saved by Bengalio -- the rebound cleared away for a corner.
Messi finally takes a shot - 72 minutes
It was a record in the World Cup -- not a single Messi shot in 65 minutes. He finally takes one as the ball comes to him at a comfortable bounce. He chests it down and lets loose from about 20 yards out but it's just over. Great technique.
Higuain header and Benaglio well saved again! 65 minutes
Rojo is almost playing like a left-winger now and he sends in a lovely cross which finds Higuain -- but the glancing goal-bound header is just tipped over! A couple minutes later Inler finds himself in the center of an attack and has two mates to his left but chooses a complicated through ball through the middle which fails. Switzerland trying the spectacular too often, and failing always.
Rojo's attempt well saved, 59 minutes
Rojo's overlap ends with him receiving the ball in a tight shooting area but his first-time effort is well saved by Benaglio -- who quickly had to shift to his left as he was expecting the shot to come closer to the post.
Drmic misses again - 51 minutes
The second half's first attack comes from Argentina as Lavezzi runs through the left channel but can't pull it back successfully for the onrushing Higuain — Switzerland have had two shots after that. The first came from Shaqiri whose freekick almost squeezes past the near post and the second is a lay-off for Drmic from the left which he skies over.
Switzerland and Argentina shots in first 45 minutes
HT: Swiss wasteful, it's 0-0
Messi has not really posed any real threat but Switzerland will go in thinking that they could have been in the lead. The Xhaka chance was brilliantly saved as Romero went down just in time but that Drmic miss will haunt him if the Swiss exit tonight. At this level, you have to take those or at least work the keeper.
HORRIBLE MISS - 36 minutes
Shaqiri slips in Drmic and Romero doesn't rush. Drmic is onside, one-on-one with no one in sight and what has he done?? He tries to chip it over the keeper and it has just looped into his hands. Oh my, what a miss.
Remember Chilean striker Pinilla who hit the crossbar against Brazil in the dying seconds? This is how he commemorates his miss.
First real shot of the match, and it comes from Switzerland! 28 minutes
Shaqiri with a silky run down the right and he enters the box before pulling it for Xhaka whose low shot is kept out by Romero. What a chance and he took it first time too. At the other end, Lavezzi has half a chance to volley from a tight angle but Benaglio is comfy with that.
Messi opts to cross freekick. Just shoot man. 25 minutes
Di Maria fouled about 25 yards from goal and in the right channel. It's perfect for a left footer but Messi, rather than shooting puts in a cross which is headed over.
So this is how you stop Messi? 20 minutes
Messi executes a stunning piece of skill and almost goes through two Swiss defenders on the right wing before being brought down as Rodriguez clutches at his thigh and stops the Argentina star. No foul, but that's the only way you can stop Messi in this form.
Stat: SUI has not won a KO Round match in the World Cup in 76 years (4-2 vs. GER, 06.09.1938).
Di Maria and Shaqiri show-boat early on - 10 minutes
Messi has been shackled so far but it's Di Maria who is causing problems for Switzerland. The tricky winger swiftly clipped the ball to one side of the defender and tries to run past him from the other side, but has been pulled back. No yellow but Di Maria asks for a yellow — which isn't really in the spirit of the game. At the other end, Shaqiri shows his quick feet and plays a few quick passes and wins a corner. Nothing comes off it though.
Argentina XI: Romero; Zabaleta, Fernandez, Garay, Rojo; Mascherano, Gago; Di Maria, Lavezzi, Messi; Higuain
Switzerland XI: Benaglio; Lichtsteiner, Rodriguez, Schar, Djourou; Inler, Xhaka, Behrami, Shaqiri; Mehmedi, Drmic
6.30 pm: Netherlands team offered space trip if they win World Cup
In an 'out of the world' incentive, a Dutch aerospace engineering company has offered the entire Netherlands team a flight into space if they win the World Cup.
After finishing runners-up on three occasions, the Netherlands are keener than most to secure their
elusive maiden World Cup title.
If that motivation is not enough for the players, this year's squad have been given an even bigger incentive to bring the trophy home.
Dutch aerospace engineering company 'Ruimtevaartbedrijf SXC', or SXC for short, have promised the 23-man squad all a flight into space if they win their maiden World Cup trophy, The Independent reported.
The offer is apparently inspired by Robin van Persie 'taking flight' to score his spectacular headed goal in the 5-1 thrashing of Spain.
PTI
5.30 pm: South Korea team pelted with 'toffees' on World Cup return
In a 'bitter-sweet' experience, the South Korean football team that finished last in Group H was
pelted with "toffees" on their arrival here at Incheon airport.
As unsavoury post-World Cup welcomes go it may not have been up there with Italy's tomato-pelting in 1966 or Hungary's lengthy hideout in Tata in 1954 to avoid riots in the streets of Budapest, but the South Korean team had its share of unwelcoming fans greeting them at Incheon airport on yesterday.
The South Korean squad, who picked up a solitary point from their three games in Brazil, had toffees thrown at them by angry fans as the team lined up for photographs.
PTI
5.15 pm: Argentina practicing penalties before Switzerland match
With two World Cup matches already decided in shootouts, Argentina is practicing penalties ahead of its second round game against Switzerland on Tuesday.
File picture of Argentina players celebrating. AP
Coach Alejandro Sabella on Monday said the Argentines have been shooting spot kicks "in an informal way," though he added that doing it in practice is very different from doing it in front of tens of thousands of spectators with the team's World Cup survival at stake.
Brazil beat Chile and Costa Rica defeated Greece in shootouts after the games had finished level after extra time.
Sabella said those matches showed that mental strength and character are crucial to advancing in the World Cup, adding that "a gram of brains weighs more than a kilogram of muscle."
AP
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