Argentina have progressed to the semi-finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Belgium in Brasilia today.
Alejandro Sabella's Albiceleste scored early through Gonzalo Higuain and then proceeded to make life difficult for the Belgian forwards who battled hard for an equaliser but in the end came up short.
Argentina produced a confident beginning and it paid off just eight minutes in when Higuain opened his scoring account for the tournament.
Angel Di Maria attempted to play a through ball to Higuain which deflected off a Belgium defender and fell kindly back into the path of the Napoli striker, allowing him to sweetly time a volley into Thibaut Courtois' bottom right corner from just inside the area.
Belgium had enough chances to level throughout but lacked a cutting edge and efficiency in front of goal which is required of teams if they are to make it far in major tournaments.
In the 26th minute, Kevin De Bruyne tried his luck with a dipping effort from range but Sergio Romero did well to dive to his right and produce a decent save before Argentina boss Sabella was forced into an early change when the dangerous Di Maria limped off with a leg injury with Enzo Perez coming on as his replacement just after the half-hour mark.
Just before the break, Kevin Mirallas got free in the box to get on the end of a Jan Vertonghen cross only to send his header slightly wide of Romero's upright.
Argentina had some good chances early in the second half, namely when Higuain was unlucky when cutting back in from the left to shoot on target but Daniel van Buyten was in the way to deflect to safety.
Lionel Messi floated a free-kick deep into the attacking third which had Rode Duivels keeper Thibaut Courtois feeling uneasy just before Higuain made a searching run into the area before firing into the crossbar when one-on-one with the Belgian gloveman.
Marouane Fellaini's 61st-minute header from another Vertonghen cross wasn't far off prior to De Bruyne's low effort which deflected off the foot of Ezequiel Garay but Romero reacted quickly enough to keep out a potential own-goal.
Argentina replaced Higuain with holding midfielder Fernando Gago in order shore up their defence as Belgium came at them and it worked a treat.
The South American side looked to kill the game off in injury-time but Courtois came off his line to produce a top-class save to deny Messi who was through on goal but it had little consequence on the result before Axel Witsel fired wide with Belgium's final chance.
Argentina will next play the winner of today's Holland v Costa Rica match in the semi-final in Sao Paulo on Wednesday, July 9.
It is the first time Argentina have made it to the final four since 1990 when they were runners-up to West Germany in Italy while Belgium bow out after impressing at times on their way to the last eight.
2014 FIFA World Cup - Quarter-Final
Argentina: 1 (Gonzalo Higuain 8') Belgium: 0
Estadio Nacional Mane Garrincha, Brasilia - 68,551
Yellow cards:ARG - Lucas Biglia 75' BEL - Eden Hazard 53', Toby Alderweireld 68'
