SALVADOR, Brazil
For a full 90 minutes, Belgium’s almost relentless attack added up to nothing in the face of Tim Howard.
Only in extra time was the superb United States goalkeeper finally beaten.
Kevin De Bruyne turned Howard’s heroic night into defeat Tuesday when he scored an extra-time goal and then set up Romelu Lukaku for another to give Belgium a 2-1 victory over the Americans. Their reward is a quarterfinal match against Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates Saturday in Brasilia, Brazil.
“For my heart, please don’t give me too many games like this,” Belgium head coach Marc Wilmots said. “He (Howard) was in a state of grace.”
Belgium’s unyielding attacks for the full 90 minutes of regulation time only highlighted the great performance of the 35-year-old Howard, but the goalkeeper’s teammates finally wilted in the evening heat once extra time came.
“They were all on their limit,” U.S. head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. “(Howard) had an absolutely amazing match.”
Three minutes into the extra period, Lukaku found space on the right and passed into the center. At first, the ball was poked out before De Bruyne gained possession. Belgium’s creative genius still had the energy for a sharp turn, and his low shot finally missed the yellow foot of Howard and settled inside the post.
Realizing he finally had been beaten, Howard fell back on the grass almost in slow-motion, arms and legs outstretched and eyes staring up into the darkness over the Arena Fonte Nova. The best man of the match turned out to be on the losing side.
“The levee is going to break at some point,” said Howard, who plays for Everton in the Premier League.
In the 105th minute, Belgium looked like it had put the game away. De Bruyne launched Lukaku into open space on the left, and the Everton striker beat his club teammate with a drive to the near post.
It wasn’t over on an anxiety-ridden and sticky night, however. The Americans got late hope when Julian Green pulled one back in the 107th minute with a perfect volley on the turn that Thibaut Courtois only could touch before he saw it fly into his net.
Suddenly, Klinsmann started shouting wildly with flailing arms – “Come on! Come on!” – and there was a new team on the field.
Now, it was Belgium’s turn to be caught flat-footed.
With six minutes to go, the Americans almost got the equalizer. A free kick move set Clint Dempsey free in the center with only Courtois to beat. But the Belgium keeper proved he is one of the world’s best by spreading his giant body to smother the shot.
“The second extra time was a total turnaround. Suddenly, they had all the energy,” De Bruyne said.
With waves of chants of “USA, USA” echoing around the 48,000-seat stadium, the reinvigorated Americans kept searching for a late goal right up until the final whistle.
It never came.
“It was a game that just went to the extreme,” Klinsmann said. “We just needed a little bit more luck.”
Belgium had been criticized for its low scoring rate at the World Cup, but it was not for want of trying Tuesday. The team had 27 shots on Howard, compared to nine for the Americans.
Amazingly, in the most lopsided knockout game so far, victory came preciously close for the Americans with seconds to go in regulation time when a goalmouth scramble brought the ball to Chris Wondolowski, who skied the ball over from the 6-meter line.
It only served to set up a thrilling extra time.
“Now, Belgium can celebrate,” Wilmots said.
Argentina beats Switzerland in extra time to reach quarterfinals
SAO PAULO – Just as another penalty shootout was looming at the World Cup, Angel Di Maria scored deep into extra time to ensure Argentina advanced to the Cup quarterfinals.
Lionel Messi made a surging run toward the Switzerland area in the 118th minute and laid the ball off to Di Maria on the right.
The winger struck a left-footed shot past diving Swiss goalkeeper Diego Benaglio, prompting the Argentine bench to jump out onto the field to celebrate the game’s only goal.
Argentina won 1-0.
Swiss substitute Blerim Dzemaili nearly equalized in the dying seconds, but his header hit the post, and the rebound bounced off his knee and just wide of the goal.
The result at Sao Paulo’s Itaquerao Stadium continued Argentina’s record of scraping by with narrow wins at this World Cup.
Di Maria said the Argentines knew from the start that there was a good chance that the game would go into extra time, like three of the six previous second-round matches.
“We know that this could happen to us, but we gave our souls out there on the pitch, we fought with our lives for each ball, and we ended up as the winners,” Di Maria said.
It was a dramatic ending to what had been a tight match, with Argentina struggling to break through Switzerland’s disciplined defense.
Josip Drmic and Granit Xhaka had clear chances to put Switzerland ahead in the first half, but after that the Swiss mostly focused on repelling Argentina’s attacks and closing down space for Messi.
“We made life very tough on them,” Switzerland head coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said. “They managed to keep their cool. It shows Argentina has a good team.”
Hitzfeld, whose brother died at age 81 on Monday, said that the match was his last as a football coach.
“It was a great honor working for Switzerland. I’m therefore proud to say goodbye to Switzerland with heart full of emotions,” Hitzfeld said.
World Cup History
United States
1930 (Uruguay)
First Round
July 13 at Montevideo: United States 3, Belgium 0
July 17 at Montevideo: United States 3, Paraguay 0
Semifinal
July 26 at Montevideo: Argentina 6, United States 1
1934 (Italy)
First Round
May 27 at Rome: Italy 7, United States 1
1950 (Brazil)
First Round
June 25 at Curitiba: Spain 3, United States 1
June 29 at Belo Horizante: United States 1, England 0
July 2 at Recife: Chile 5, United States 2
1990 (Italy)
First Round
June 10 at Florence: Czechoslovakia 5, United States 1
June 14 at Rome: Italy 1, United States 0
June 19 at Florence: Austria 2, United States 1
1994 (United States)
First Round
June 18 at Pontiac, Mich.: Switzerland 1, United States 1
June 22 at Pasadena, Calif.: United States 2, Colombia 1
June 26 at Pasadena, Calif.: Romania 1, United States 0
Second Round
July 4 at Stanford, Calif.: Brazil 1, United States 0
1998 (France)
First Round
June 15 at Paris: Germany 2, United States 0
June 21 at Lyon: Iran 2, United States 1
June 25 at Nantes: Yugoslavia 1, United States 0
2002 (South Korea)
First Round
June 5 at Suwon: United States 3, Portugal 2
June 10 at Daegu: United States 1, South Korea 1
June 14 at Daejeon: Poland 3, United States 1
Second Round
June 17 at Jeonju: United States 2, Mexico 0
Quarterfinal
June 21 at Ulsan: Germany 1, United States 0
2006 (Germany)
First Round
June 12 at Gelsenkirchen: United States 0, Czech Republic 3
June 17 at Kaiserslautern: Italy 1, United States 1
June 22 at Nuremberg: Ghana 2, United States 1
2010 (South Africa)
First Round
June 12 at Rustenburg: England 1, United States 1
June 18 at Johannesburg: Slovenia 2, United States 2
June 23 at Pretoria: United States 1, Algeria 0
Second Round
June 26 at Rustenburg: United States 1, Ghana 2
2014 (Brazil)
First Round
June 16 at Natal: United States 2, Ghana 1
June 22 at Manaus: Portugal 2, United States 2
June 26 at Recife: Germany 1, United States 0
Second Round
July 1 at Salvador: Belgium 2, United States 1
Associated Press
