Deserved or not, ‘Lucky’ Argentina prepare for Belgium

Lionel Messi concedes Argentina were perhaps not deserving of the win against Switzerland, but nonetheless they are through to the final eight and will face Belgium on Saturday. Emilio Lavandeira Jr /Show more

Argentina thanked their lucky stars and a goalpost for scraping into the World Cup quarter-finals and began preparing Wednesday for a weekend clash with Belgium.
The Argentine team flew straight back to their camp in Belo Horizonte after beating Switzerland on Tuesday with a goal by Angel Di Maria two minutes from the end of extra time.
In a heart-stopping end to a pedestrian Argentine performance, the Swiss almost equalised in the dying moments when substitute Blerim Dzemaili's header struck the post.
Some Argentina media compared the moment to Diego Maradona's infamous handball goal against England at the 1986 World Cup.
"Luck decided to wrap itself round a team that alone was not up to the task," wrote one relieved columnist Cristian Grosso in Argentina's La Nacion newspaper. Another, the Clarin, nicknamed Di Maria the nation's new "guardian angel" in a play on his first name.
Reflecting the extraordinary national tension and desperation for a third World Cup, one radio narrator was reduced to tears on air when Argentina scored. In the dressing room afterwards, the players danced and sang fans' songs as if they had won the trophy.
Lionel Messi, the captain, recognised they had been lucky. "I'm not sure if this was deserved or not. The important thing is we are through," he said. "Luck is on our side."
Belgium, who also needed extra time to beat the United States 2-1, will have taken note of Argentina's inability to convert possession into goals and nervousness at the back.
They meet on Saturday in Brasilia.
While the Belgians will have been buoyed by Romelu Lukaku finally getting on the scoresheet, Argentina is likely again to be without Sergio Aguero for that match.
Argentina's coach Alejandro Sabella was defensive of his charges in a tournament where few favourites have been able to steamroller supposedly weaker opposition.
"I'm normally a self-critical person," he said. "Sometimes I prefer to do that in front of the team, sometimes in front of you, but I believe the team played well. I have to congratulate the players, I have no criticism of them or of myself, although there are always things to improve."
Argentina are under extra pressure to succeed in this World Cup given the presence of thousands of their fans, who have crossed the border into Brazil.
Winning on Brazilian soil also would be extra sweet for Argentines given the two nation's long-running rivalry.
Without Aguero, Sabella will be relying on Ezequiel Lavezzi or Rodrigo Palacio against Belgium.
Lavezzi started on Tuesday, with Palacio later replacing him.
"I want to point out that the play for the goal came from Palacio," Sabella said. "Our dream is to work from game to game ... We can't make the mistake of trying to take two steps at once."
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