World Cup 2014, Argentina vs Belgium: The match-ups that matter

For Argentina, the match is simple: it can’t be just Lionel Messi. All tournament, he has carried them. Now, the rest must step-up. For Belgium, on the other hand, the build-up has been slow and in their last game – against the USA, it all finally seemed to come together for them.

Here’s a look at the match-ups that matter ahead of the big quarter-final between the two teams:

Messi vs the Belgium defence

One man can’t stop Messi. Neither can two or even three. We have seen during the tournament that it takes Messi one moment to make the difference and he can wait for as long as it takes. You can’t mark him out the game – he will often drop deep to get the ball if he feels the need to. So far, he has done that a few times. But Belgium will need to mark him well and they will need to mark him everywhere. Iran missed a beat and they lost. In the last match against Switzerland, he was shut down by Gokhan Inler and Valon Behrami for 118 minutes. But with minutes to go for the penalty shootout, the little master got away and then played the final telling ball.

Belgium have a great defence headed by Vincent Kompany but the responsibility of marking him will probably lie with Axel Witsel, the holding midfielder. He will need all the help he can get from the others too.

Thibaut Courtois vs the missing Argentina attack

Belgium have never lost a match with Thibaut Courtois in goal. It is perhaps an indication of just how good this golden generation of Belgian football is. It is also an indication of how talented this 22-year-old is. If you can find a way past the Belgian defense, you will run into the giant figure of Courtois.

It also helps that Courtois has managed to stop Messi from scoring in their last seven meetings across La Liga, Champions League and Spanish Super Cup fixtures, as he has starred on loan for Atletico Madrid as they won their first league title in eight years last season. Can he stop Messi and the talented but invisible Argentina attack?

Eden Hazard vs Pablo Zabaleta

Belgium took an incredible 39 shots on goal during the game against USA. They were fast and lethal and were only denied by an incredible display from Tim Howard and the US defence. However, the key to unlocking the Argentina defence is Hazard. A very creative player when he gets going, his final ball could be the difference between victory and defeat. Zabaleta will have to step up and have a great game or Argentina could spend a lot of time simply defending against Hazard and Co.