Brazil 2014: Day 21
Day 21. The round of 16 was completed last night. It featured a brilliant match between Belgium and the USA with Everton’s Tim Howard being the hero for the USA. So, Argentina and Belgium progress to the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup.
Results Tuesday 1st July 2014
Round of 16
Argentina 1-0 Switzerland
Di María 118′
Ref: Jonas Eriksson
Att: 63,255
Belgium 2-1 USA
De Bruyne 93′ Lukaku 105′ Green 107′
Ref: Djamel Haimoudi
Att: 51,227
News
Tim Howard pulling off 16 saves set a new World Cup record. USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann used the single word adjectives to describe Howard’s performance “phenomenal”, “outstanding” and “amazing”.
TV Coverage
Details of which games ITV and BBC are showing can be found at: http://www.exeweb.com/2014/07/02/brazil-2014-tv-schedule-for-last-stages-of-the-world-cup/
Referees appointments for 4th July
Match day appointments by FIFA can be found at http://www.exeweb.com/2014/07/02/brazil-2014-referee-appointments-for-4-july/
Quotes
Belgium v USA
Marc Wilmots, Belgium coach
Tonight we’ve seen a forward-thinking Belgium team. We had 27 shots on goal, the first came after the second minute and we didn’t stop attacking for the remaining 118 minutes. I want to congratulate Jurgen Klinsmann and the USA team, especially Tim Howard who had a fantastic game and I think we deserved to win. We played football, we were brave and we pushed ourselves to the limits. Sometimes in games like that when you have so many chances and you are denied, the result doesn’t go your way but we didn’t stop believing. Now we have four days to prepare for the Argentina game, which isn’t long. We’re not favourites but we want to win.
Jurgen Klinsmann, USA coach
It’s hard for us to end up on the losing side after 120 minutes of giving absolutely everything. But this game had everything, it was a thriller. I have to say that what Tim Howard did tonight was phenomenal, outstanding and amazing. He kept us in the game. He had an absolutely amazing match and you have to give him all the plaudits. That said had chances to equalise, but congratulations to Belgium. I’m proud of the players not just for what they’ve done tonight, but what they’ve done throughout the tournament. They’ve made the country proud. The sport in the USA will only continue to grow. It’s getting stronger and there’s a lot to build on going forward.
Tim Howard, USA goalkeeper and Man of the Match
It’s heartbreaking, I don’t think we could have given any more. We left it all out there. We got beaten by a really good team. They took their chances well. It’s heartache, it hurts. But hats off to Belgium, they were fantastic.
Argentina v Switzerland
Alejandro Sabella, Argentina coach
It was an even game in the first half, with just two or three chances, but I think we were by far the better side in the second half. We deserved the win, but the ideal thing would have been to have got the job done in normal time. It goes without saying that winning is the most important thing and the only thing that really matters. As a coach you have to do things to make winning easier – you have to look for the right approach, strategy and players. Apart from the odd lapse in concentration here and there, I think the team played well. We were up against a very awkward side, and we probed down the right and probed down the left. I’d like to congratulate my players on their great performance, though there are some areas where we need to improve.
Ottmar Hitzfeld, Switzerland coach
We played the game we had to play, but you can see for yourself what Argentina can do when they have space. If we’d gone out and attacked them, then maybe they would have scored more goals than France did. The idea was to stop (Lionel) Messi by putting three or four players on him, but when you’re up against a team like that you can’t just concentrate on one player, as (Angel) Di Maria showed. It took a great finish to beat (Diego) Benaglio today. I’d like to congratulate my players for the way they reacted at the end. Today Switzerland earned the recognition of many people around the world and we can walk away with our heads held high. As for my future, I’m retiring from coaching so I can lead a quieter life.
Lionel Messi, Man of the Match (ARG)
The main thing is that we’re through. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Time was going by and we didn’t want to go to penalties – we wanted to win the game. As for the goal, my first thought was to go for it myself, but then I saw Di Maria appear and I decided to play him in. Fortunately, he was able to put it away. That’s football and today luck was on our side. We have to make the most of it and keep on going.