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Argentina and Belgium make last 8 of World Cup

Both the Argentinians and Belgians sealed their places in the quarter finals of the World Cup after both matches went into extra-time. Their qualification on Tuesday means the make-up of the last eight matches will be evenly balanced, with four Latin American sides and four from Europe going head to head. 

Argentina's Angel Di Maria celebrates after scoring a goal with teammate Lionel Messi in match against Switzerland
Argentina's Angel Di Maria celebrates after scoring a goal with teammate Lionel Messi in match against Switzerland REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado
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Lionel Messi rescued Argentina once more to help defeat Switzerland as the United States' fairytale World Cup run came to an end against Belgium on Tuesday.

Messi set up the winner for Angel Di Maria two minutes before the end of extra-time to give the South Americans a 1-0 win against the Swiss.

Whilst extra-time goals from Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku sent Belgium into the World Cup quarter-finals for first time in 28 years with a 2-1 win over the United States.

The Argentines will now face Belgium in the quarter finals in Brasilia on Saturday. The line-up of the last eight is as follows:

Friday 4 July

  • France V Germany
  • Brazil V Colombia

Saturday 5 July

  • Argentina V Belgium
  • Netherlands V Costa Rica

Argentina and Belgium's qualification means that for the first time, all eight winners of the first round will now face off in the quarter finals, but there is no clear-cut favourite. In five of the knock-out matches, the ties have all gone into extra-time.

On Friday, two European titans, Germany and France will face each other, and the outcome is far from certain. Coach Didier Deschamps said on Wednesday, "everyone can dream, including me, but I'm a pragmatist and a realist, Friday is the only thing that counts."

France hasn't won any of its matches against Germany since its 1958-win. In the 1982 semi-final, it let slip a 3-1 lead in extra-time, that ended in penalties, and France's hopes of victory with it.

 

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