Di Maria sends Argentina into the quarters
Argentina barely made it through. The South Americans knocked out Switzerland after Extra time. DI Maria scored the only goal of the game, but Switzerland missed the best chance one minute before the end of the match.
The former champions dominated the game and had a better possession, but it was Switzerland that missed the better goal opportunities. Just before half time, Granit Xhaka found himself in front of the Argentinian goal without any defender on him but completely missed the shot.
The second half was dominated even more clearly by Argentina and Barcelona's star, Leo Messi sent a dagger shot 25 meter away that forced Diego Benaglio to stretch and give away a corner. Despite a final hard push by the Argentinians, the European defence held up and sent the match into extra time.
Both coaches were already preparing for the penalty shootout, but Di Maria made sure Argentina would not go there. Real Madrid's winger converted Messi's pass into 1-0 two minutes before the end of the game. However, it could have gone wrong for Argentina into stoppage time when Blerim Dzemaili headed a corner shot against the Argentinian post.
The 0-1 defeat was marked the end of Ottmar Hitzfeld's managerial career. The 65 year old announced his retirement from football. Voted two times the World Coach of the Year, Hitzfeld had a 31 managerial career and he won 19 major club trophies with Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Grasshoppers.