A little slice of Lionel Messi magic was all it took to unlock a stubborn Switzerland as Argentina earned a bruising 1-0 victory over Switzerland via an Angel Di Maria extra time goal.
The Barcelona-Real Madrid combo unlocked a stubborn Switzerland, who had hitherto frustrated Argentina to the brink of penalty shoot-outs with a disciplined team performance and an inform goalkeeper.
The penultimate second round tie pitted the South American giants against the homeland of FIFA President Sepp Blatter with a place in the last eight at stake.
Argentina has not had the best of tournaments so far, but then neither had the Swiss; and despite not being at his best Lionel Messi has scored four goals already in this tournament. The four time world player of the year started upfront with Ezequiel Lavezzi and Gonzalo Higuain.
A half with chances coming few and far between saw Argentina having the bulk of possession whilst Switzerland hit them on the break with swift counter attacks, but neither side could break the deadlock in by the end of the first period.
Argentina kept the ball well, but breaking through was a challenge. Twice Switzerland goalkeeper Diego Benaglio rushed off his line, to scoop up poorly weighted crosses from Messi and Zabaleta, causing little trouble for his side.