It was tough on the Colombians and goalkeeper David Ospina in particular as he put in a shift and a half with a string of superb stops.
Ospina out to prove himself
Whether David Ospina was trying to put himself in the shop window or show Arsene Wenger that he can fight for his place ahead of Petr Cech, he was going about it in the right way. The Arsenal goalkeeper had a wonderful game, the highlight of which was a magnificent double save from Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi midway through the first half.Manchester City striker Aguero fired a low shot at goal from close range and Ospina blocked it, sending the ball spinning into the middle of the box. There was Argentina’s captain, Messi, who seemed destined to find the net with a header. But somehow Ospina made up the ground, scrambling across the turf to reach up and tip the Barcelona star’s effort away.
He was quick off his line to deny Javier Pastore too, after Messi had threaded the Paris Saint-Germain star through, and raced to the edge of his box to beat Angel di Maria to another splendid Messi passl.
And with 10 minutes to go he made another sublime stop, somehow edging Nicolas Otamendi’s snap-shot volley on to the far post and eventually to safety.
‘Oooooooospina!’ screamed the Colombian fans at each of his goal-kicks and perhaps he will be hearing the same noise next season, just not at the Emirates.
James Rodriguez sees off Neymar, but not Messi
Colombia put on the performance of their lives against Brazil in the group stage, pulling off a 1-0 win.On that day Real Madrid star and Cafeteros No 10 James Rodriguez outshone his opposite number, Barcelona forward Neymar. But at Vina del Mar's Estadio Sausalito he couldn't get the better of another Blaugrana attacker and Argentina's No 10, Lionel Messi.
The Colombian did his best to help his team on the break, with some good transition play and quick footwork to help his team escape Argentina's high pressing. But Messi was majestic, the target of foul after foul as Colombia failed to cope with his attacking menace.
Left back Santiago Arias and defensive midfielder Alexander Mejia, the two players tasked with shackling him, both ended up in referee Garcia Orozco's book for fouls on the Argentine.
With a laser pen being shone in his face, Messi continued with his job, dragging Colombia players with him and opening up space for Aguero. Although Argentina couldn’t capitalise, Messi stepped up and converted his penalty in the shoot-out, which eventually saw his side reach the semi-finals.
Much to come next season from Cuadrado and Di Maria
Chelsea's Juan Cuadrado and Manchester United's Angel di Maria both had disappointing seasons, where they failed to show why their respective clubs brought them to the Premier League.But playing this tournament should help them hit the ground running next season and quite a few in England could be pleasantly surprised.
Argentina were in the ascendency and Di Maria found plenty of space down the left flank, with his incisive dribbling and willingness to fire the ball in low and quickly for Aguero a key asset for Argentina in the first half.
Cuadrado wasn't able to influence the game much in an attacking sense in the first half, but Jose Mourinho will have been pleased by his defensive work ethic.
The winger was frequently back in his own half, scrapping with Di Maria and his Manchester United team-mate Marcos Rojo. Sometimes he took the fight too far, booked for a foul on the latter and given reprieve by the referee when he clashed with Rojo later on. But overall, this was an encouraging performance from the former Fiorentina wide-man.
Radamel Falcao dropped with no end to his rut in sight
Radamel Falcao still inspires awe among Colombians if few others. The striker, close to signing for Chelsea, came on as a substitute and James Rodriguez came rushing over to hand him the captain's armband.
The Manchester United flop didn't do much but the referee did take his name
But what was significant was Colombia coach Jose Pekerman deciding to leave El Tigre on the bench for this game. After starting with him in all three group stage matches, Pekerman finally decided that even though Falcao is his country's talisman and all-time top scorer, he wasn't in good enough form to start.
Instead it was Jackson Martinez leading the line, alongside Teofilo Gutierrez. Neither were effective, with the latter hooked after just 23 minutes as Colombia were strangled by Argentina. Atletico Madrid's new man Martinez also had little to say for himself, and was eventually replaced by Falcao.
The striker contributed a booking to the cause, for an ungainly arm on Otamendi, and his rut has no end in sight.
Argentina’s embarrassment of riches goes to waste
Even ignoring the fact Argentina have the best player in the world in their midst, they still have a true embarrassment of riches in an attacking sense.Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez and Gonzalo Higuain are the three players fighting for the central attacking spot between Messi and Di Maria – with plenty more talented players like Luciano Vietto left at home.
Aguero is currently coach Tata Martino’s favourite, but he can’t seem to get the strikeforce going as fluidly as you would want–nay–demand when it consists of players this good. Imagine someone like Chile manager Jorge Sampaoli at the helm, who would be able to turn the speed up to 11.
Higuain, who started against Jamaica and scored the winner, was left to freeze on the bench, while Tevez only came on as the game was closed out. The Boca Juniors striker (his transfer from Juventus was actually announced during the game), could have contributed more, had he been called upon earlier.
In the end, it took a penalty shoot-out to decide the game, but that should never have been the case, given Argentina’s overall dominance. Scoring just four goals in four games is unacceptable for a team with this many top-class offensive players.
Argentina
