Di Maria’s late winner gifts Argentina 1-0 win over Switzerland
Deep in extra time, Argentina's captain and talisman Lionel Messi released Angel Di Maria, who slammed one home to send Argentina through to the quarter finals on Wednesday's (July 2) last 16 game.
Two minutes away from a penalty shoot-out, Messi the magician picked up the ball in the Argentina's attacking third and charged toward the Swiss goal.
Head down, he released team mate Angel Di Maria who needed no invitation to curl in past the diving goalkeeper.
It was a cruel end for Switzerland, who had stretched Argentina early on but lost steam in the latter stages.
“Football is brutal, brutal, brutal,” said the Swiss assistant coach Michel Pont.
Messi revealed after the game that he felt his team was lucky to go through.
“Suffering, suffering, that’s what we felt,” he said. “We know we will go through times like this. That’s football. We had luck on our side. We need to now move on.”
And move on they shall, they will meet Belgium in the quarter finals on July 6.
Source: Reuters
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