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Argentina are into the World Cup final against Germany. We take a look at the key moments on their way to the Maracana.
1. Last-minute miss
The last-minute miss in extra-time by Switzerland substitute Blerim Dzemaili in the second round match in São Paulo. With his team trailing 1-0, the Swiss defender’s header canoned off the post and he then sent the rebound wide when faced with an empty net. The match would almost certainly have gone to penalties if he had scored and then who know what would have happened.
Switzerland’s Blerim Dzemaili heads against the Argentina post in the last few seconds of their match (EPA)
2. Messi’s magic
Lionel Messi’s last-minute, 25-yard goal against Iran which earned his team a 1-0 win . Argentina were close to being held to an embarrassing draw in Belo Horizonte, with Iran outplaying them for large parts of the match and missing two glorious chances to win when Messi conjured up a piece of timely magic. Argentina’s victory secured their qualification from the group stages.
A view of Messi's goal against Iran (GETTY IMAGES)
3. Sabella’s tactics
Manager Alex Sabella’s decision to make two key changes for the quarter-final match against Belgium, dropping centre-half Frederico Fernandez for Martin Dimechellis, and midfielder Fernando Gago for Lucas Biglio. The changes added extra strength and balance to the team, making them even harder to beat.
Show all 20 1 /20World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned Red faced Vincent Tan, owner of relegated Cardiff City, is proved wrong again: red shirts do not increase the chances of success. Red was the most popular first-choice shirt colour in the tournament. Nine teams picked it, yet five, including big guns Spain and Portugal, failed to get out of their groups. Two more fell in the second round, and the furthest any crimson campaigners got was the quarter-finals – Ivory Coast and Belgium.
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World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned Don’t get carried away Not for the first time at a World Cup, the number of goals (added to by Netherlands' 5-1 thrashing of Spain) in the first round sparked talk of a new record. But the group stages are no guide for the latter rounds, and the goal rush dried up once the sudden-death reality of the knockouts took hold.
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World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned Letter of advice To succeed in these finals you needed your nation’s name to start with a letter in the first half of the alphabet, Algeria (pictured) being the most surprising. Of the 32 nations, only nine started with a letter in the latter half of the alphabet. Of those, five got through to the second round, but out of eight quarter-finalists only Netherlands represented N-Z.
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World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned Well done Jose For Jose Mourinho to get £50 million from PSG for David Luiz looks great business. The Chelsea manager’s chief concern was always the Brazilian centre-half’s defensive ability, and the semi-final against Germany, when he effectively abandoned his post, graphically proved Mourinho’s point.
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World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned Spain lacked energy Spain’s feeble performance, especially against the Netherlands, proved that at the top level age isn’t as important as freshness. Many of their players are in their prime and playing for top clubs. And it was not exactly an old team. But success can sap a player’s energy as much as age.
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World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned Europe can win away The fact that this World Cup was only a Javier Mascherano tackle and a penalty shoot-out away from being a third successive all-European final shows the old belief that only South American teams win on that continent needs updating. It wasn’t the climate that prevented the Netherland’s best player, Arjen Robben, scoring a late winner against Argentina.
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World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned Hair cuts both ways The jury is out on whether changing your hairstyle aids success. Ronaldo’s zig-zag didn’t help him or Portugal, while Neymar’s blond tint presaged his injury and Brazil’s 1-7 thrashing. But Argentina defender Martin Demichelis has been reborn as a player since he lost his ponytail. The newly shorn Marouane Fellaini must be hoping for the same at Old Trafford.
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World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned Messy not Messi The “vanishing foam” may have kept defensive walls back 10 yards at free-kicks, but it did nothing to help the free-kick taker strike the ball cleanly. The ball had to be kicked through the ring of foam circling the ball, splattering it everywhere.
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World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned Money talks in Africa Nigeria’s Stephen Keshi (above right) became the continent’s first manager to reach the second round, where there were two African teams for the first time. It should have been a landmark tournament; instead three federations got involved in financial disputes as the old problems resurfaced.
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World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned A star is born Given the media globalisation of the club game, it seemed rather old-fashioned to imagine a hitherto unregarded player making himself properly known at a tournament. But in this World Cup James Rodriguez (right) of Colombia has gone from the fringes of the elite to worldwide superstar.
World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned Referees became softies Allegedly on Fifa orders, so many fouls went unpunished by a book- ing for the perpetrator. The statistics also suggest leniency: 10 red cards (above) is fewer than any finals since 1986.
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World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned Fifa’s timely earner The game’s governing body may be a “non-profit organisation”, but they are still very good at earning. That could be seen every time the sponsored watch-shaped stoppage-time board (above) was held up by the fourth official.
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World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned Corners are key Set-pieces are supposedly the weapon of choice for weaker teams, but much of Germany’s potency derives from them. For all the squad’s talent, the key opening goals in both their quarter-final and semi-final were from corners.
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World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned Rotation is crucial The three best-performing semi-finalists all shared one trait: they changed either formation or line-up in every match, making them very difficult to work out. It was a factor in why Argentina-Netherlands was so tense, and one explanation why Brazil fell apart. Without Neymar and Thiago Silva, they could not adapt.
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World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned Club and country A club season is no guide to World Cup form. Steven Gerrard was immense for Liverpool, anonymous for England. On the other side of things, there is Sergio Romero . The goalkeeper only made three appearances for Monaco last season but has been one of Argentina’s stars.
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World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned Asia still minor So much for the breakthrough of Asian football. All four teams finished bottom of their groups, without a win between them. It was so bleak that the South Korean Football Association even offered a collective bow of apology.
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World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned Oh lucky man The records show that England had the seventh worst campaign of the 32 teams. Unlike those who outperformed him, such as Greece’s Fernando Santos and even Japan’s Alberto Zacceroni, Roy Hodgson has stayed in employment.
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World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned Shoot-out kings Argentina 1990 remain the only side to have won two shoot-outs in the same World Cup. So it was perhaps fitting that it was Alex Sabella’s side who prevented the Dutch team from emulating them (above). Argentina never looked like losing from the moment of the first penalty.
World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned Tweet tweet The second semi-final offered a first, as Argentina tweeted their list of penalty takers. It almost felt like they were calling Louis van Gaal’s bluff. It’s hard to say whether it was a factor, but it did reflect how this World Cup has been dominated by social media.
World Cup 2014: 20 things we learned No new balls please Complaints about the ball have always been one of the tournament’s clichés, but not this time, with a complete absence of discussion about it. The ball is doing exactly what it is meant to, meaning attackers are more comfortable with it.
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4. Romero comes good
Sergio Romero’s penalty saves from Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder secured Argentina’s place in the World Cup final. The much-derided goalkeeper had, previously been described as the team’s weak link. His first save in particular gave Argentina a huge psyhological advantage in the shoot-out.
Sergio Romero saves Wesley Sneijder's penalty (GETTY IMAGES)
5. Cool venues
The World Cup draw has been kind to Argentina, ensuring they played no matches in the hot and humid cities of northern Brazil. All their games have taken place in the more temperate cities in the middle or south, which are relatively closer to their country, ensuring Argentinians have attended in large numbers.
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