Romero was far from convincing in keeping out a Shaqiri free-kick from 25 yards five minutes into the second half, and Argentina looked short of ideas going forward, evoking memories of their last-gasp 1-0 victory over Iran in the group stage.īenaglio denied Marcos Rojo from a tight angle as Argentina got a rare sight of goal, before Di Maria attempted a flamboyant cross. However, the Bayer Leverkusen striker's attempted chip was tame, and Romero gratefully clutched the ball to his chest. Germany's Manuel Neuer produced a superb goalkeeping display in their last-16 clash on Monday, effectively acting as sweeper at times when his defence was breached by Algeria, but Argentine counterpart Romero was statuesque when Josip Drmic found himself clean through on goal in the 39th minute.
Switzerland injected some life into an otherwise dormant half in the 28th minute when Granit Xhaka and Stephan Lichsteiner were both denied by Sergio Romero in the Argentina goal, before Lavezzi called Diego Benaglio into action at the other end with his team's first accurate effort moments later.
