BY ADAM SERRANO
They're at it again. It's the round of 16 so it must mean, Mexico and Argentina.
The Argentines come into the match firing on all cylinders after earning three straight victories in Group play. The success of the Albiceleste has been enough to turn the jeers to cheers for Maradona's men who were once heavily criticized in their home nation. For Mexico, El Tri enters the match against one of their rivals on a bit of a low point after a poor performance in a loss to their final group opponent Uruguay. Expect Javier Aguirre to make several changes from the side that did not impress against the South Americans.
This is Adam Serrano and I will be providing the commentary of this Round of 16 match. Be sure to leave your thoughts, analysis, and feelings in the comments section below. Enjoy the match!
FINAL – A very suspect call put Argentina up in the first half and from there it was all Argentina as Mexico unraveled mentally. The big story in Mexico — as in England — will be the call of the referee, but Argentina's quality shined through in their convincing defeat of their North American rivals. Chicharito was the star for Mexico and the young striker clearly showed why he was signed by Manchester United. The South Americans now earn a date with Germany in the Quarter finals in what is sure to be one of the matches of the tournament. The two nations are coming off of very convincing victories so expect fireworks in the Quarterfinals.
This has been Adam Serrano and thank you for following along this afternoon. Look for more coverage of today's games tonight and be sure to make Soccer By Ives your one stop shop for all of your World Cup coverage. Buenas Tardes.
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FINAL – Mexico going over to the Rosetti and refusing to exchange shirts with the Argentines. Serious case of bad blood here and the World Cup ends in the exact same way for CONCACAF's best nations in South Africa. A loss to Ghana and a Loss to Argentina.
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93rd Minute – THE WHISTLE IS BLOWN! ARGENTINA 3 MEXICO 1 is the FINAL. Maradona's men are through to the Quarterfinals!
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92nd Minute – Messi FIRES a great shot but Perez comes up big and Messi still has not scored in this tournament.
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91st Minute – Argentina just killing time now and it looks like Argentina vs. Germany is a certainty. Who do you think will go through to the semis?
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89th Minute – 3 minutes of stoppage time.
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88th Minute – Mexico not really testing Romero's net. They seem content to just fire shots from 40 yards. Poor decision making by Mexico right now.
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86th Minute – ARGENTINA SUB: Javier Pastore on for Maxi Rodriguez
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84th Minute – Mexico with a corner, but Marquez fouls Heinze again and there's nothing from it. Only minutes until Argentina locks in their spot in the Quarterfinals
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81st Minute – Mexico with a dangerous free kick, but once again Heinze comes up big and heads the ball out before appearing to get elbowed by Rafa Marquez. No foul there.
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79th Minute – ARGENTINA SUB: Jonas Gutierrez about to come on for Argentina for Angel di Maria. I'd also expect Blanco to come on soon for Mexico.
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76th Minute – The score may be 3-1, but great credit goes to Mexican captain Rafa Marquez who has stifled Messi throughout the match. Great job shutting down his Barcelona teammate.
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75th Minute – Mexico getting a fair amount of possession in the Argentina end. A goal here would make the last 15 minutes very interesting.
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73rd Minute – Fantastic turn off a defender and a wonderful shot by Chicharito Hernandez. Poor goalkeeping by Romero however who looked a step out of position. Can Mexico make a game of this?
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71st Minute- MEXICO GOAL! CHICHARITO WITH THE TURN AND SHOOT! 3-1!
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69th Minute – HENIZE CLEARS IT OFF THE LINE! Mexico can't get anything going at all.
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69th Minute – ARGENTINA SUB: Juan Sebastian Veron comes in for Carlos Tevez. Fantastic game by Tevez who is unhappy to be coming off the field without his hattrick.
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67th Minute – Maradona about to bring in Juan Sebastian Veron to close this match out. Mexico trying to push for a goal to claw their way back into this match.
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63rd Minute – Mexico resigned to just fire shots from distance. No luck at all as they are off distance.
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62nd Minute – MEXICO SUB: FRANCO for Guardado
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59th Minute – Aguirre about to bring on Franco, perhaps for the ineffective Dos Santos who has done little for Mexico today.
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58th Minute – Mexico just looks completely flat now. I wouldn't be surprised if the South Americans could put at least one more on them now. Argentina continuing to push forward.
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56th Minute – For all the criticism that Maradona has gotten before the tournament, one can not doubt the chemistry that he has created in the Argentina camp. This is a team that clearly wants to play for their coach.
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53rd Minute – Tevez gets a great deal of space and he just fires it into the top right corner of Perez's net. Argentina is not looking to let off now and they're pushing for a fourth goal.
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52nd Minute – WHAT A SHOT!!! CARLOS TEVEZ WITH A WONDERFUL STRIKE! EL APACHE MAKES IT 3-0 ARGENTINA!!
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50th Minute – Barrera with an immediate impact. A very nice cross into the box, but Hernandez and Dos Santos make the same run near post and it goes out for a goal kick.
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48th Minute – Mexico fans seem to know what USA fans felt yesterday. Aguirre puts Barrera in for Bofo. Surely a move that should have been made at the start of the game rather than the start at the half.
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45th Minute – Only 45 minutes for the last team from CONCACAF to save their tournament. We're underway!
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HALFTIME – Pablo Barrera comes in for Bofo Bautista for Mexico.
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HALFTIME- If you didn't know it already, these two teams don't like one another. A bit of a brawl breaks out in the tunnel as the two nations head into the locker room. Aguirre will need to have a serious conversation with his men now.
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HALFTIME – The word of the half was "questionable." A Questionable offsides call gives Tevez a goal and puts Mexico down and then a questionable decision by Osorio gifts Higuain a goal to put Argentina up 2-0. Aguirre will need to go to his bench immediately at the half if El Tri is going to have any chance to come back to make this match competitive. Expect Blanco and Vela to give Mexico a bit more offensive pop and to stabilize a team that is clearly shaken right now.
For Maradona's men, the Argentines will need another goal to put this one away for good because El Tri is sure to come out buzzing in the second half.
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46th Minute – FANTASTIC CHANCE BY CHICHARITO BUT ROMERO MAKES THE SAVE!! Good diagonal ball by Salcido, but Romero is there on Hernandez's chance.
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45th Minute – Two minutes of stoppage.
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42nd Minute – SHOULD HAVE BEEN THREE! Higuain is unmarked and he gets an open header, but he can't convert. Osorio again misses his marker and it is painfully clear that he will have to come out soon. The defender's confidence is just shot.
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40th Minute – Aguirre is pleading with his men to show some kind of composure on the field right now. It looks like he may have to go to his subs bench soon.
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37th Minute – Osorio is unraveling right now as Argentina is looking to put them down for good. The Mexican defense is giving the ball away in their own half and creating all kinds of chances for the South Americans.
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36th Minute – Osorio passes the ball to the left and Higuain was right there. FANTASTIC play under pressure as Osorio tries to bring the Argentine down, but he coolly puts it into the back of the net. It's dos a cero now in Soccer City.
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33rd Minute – ARGENTINA GOAL!!!! OSORIO GIFTS HIGUAIN A GOAL AND ITS 2-0!
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30th Minute – Marquez is going after Argentines now as he cuts down Tevez. Shades of the Round of 16 for all of the United States fans there.
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28th Minute – YELLOW CARD – Rafael Marquez slides hard on Messi and earns a yellow. Mexico has to keep it together right now or else they risk falling apart mentally.
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27th Minute – WOW! Messi plays the ball back to Tevez who was deep in an offside position. The Mexican team is going over to the referees to plead for the goal to be disallowed, but it looks like it will stand.
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25th Minute – GOAL!!!!!!! ARGENTINA!!! CARLOS TEVEZ KNOCKS IT INTO THE EMPTY NET!!
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24th Minute – Mexico is all over Messi tonight. Their defenders are closing down on the superstar every time that he gets the ball. I wouldn't be surprised if a Mexican defender will follow him into the locker room at the Half.
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21st Minute – Argentina has succeeded in killing the momentum that Mexico had in the first 15 minutes. The game has died off considerably.
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16th Minute – Argentina trying to slow this game down. El Tri have the momentum and are buzzing around the ball. A lot of defensive pressure
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15th Minute – MISS! Dos Santos dishes it to Hernandez who gets a poor touch on it. A dangerous chance there from Chicharito.
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13th Minute – Higuain earns a corner, but Argentina can't convert and Perez will have a goal kick.
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12th Minute – Mexico is asking some questions of Argentina, but Maradona's men are resorting to the counter. Back and forth game so far!
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9th Minute – NEAR MISS! Guardado just misses the net on a shot from just outside the box. Mexico putting a lot of pressure on the suspect Argentina back line.
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8th Minute – OFF THE POST!! Romero loses the ball and Salcido's shot goes right off the post!! Horrible goalkeeping!
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7th Minute – Little bit of a streamer problem early. The Argentina fans behind Perez pelt the goalkeeper with paper and it causes a brief delay in the match.
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2nd Minute – Mexico with the first journey into the Argentina end, but Dos Santos can't control the ball and it goes out for a goal kick.
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1st Minute – Here we go! We're off!
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PRE-GAME: Chicharito (Javier Hernandez) will need to have a big game if they are going to get a victory today against Argentina. Pressure also on the youthful Di Maria for Argentina. Games like this make young players so which will step up?
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PRE-GAME: Mexico looking intense in the anthem. Adding the cross arm over chest salute. Chicharito smiling, it looks like he's ready for this one to start.
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PRE-GAME: Here are the anthems. Argentina first and then Mexico.
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PRE-GAME: So who do you support in this match? Are you a US Fan supporting a fellow CONCACAF nation or will you hope that Lionel Messi finally puts one in the back of the net and carries Argentina to the Quarter finals.
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PRE-GAME: Aguirre will get a great deal of flak for starting "Bofo" Bautista today. He was considered by many to be the 23rd player on the Mexican roster going into the tournament and will need to preform today in the biggest game of the tournament for El Tri.
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PRE-GAME: Here are the Line Ups:
ARGENTINA
—————–Tevez———-Higuain———Messi————-
————-Di Maria——-Mascherano—Rodriguez————
—–Heinze——–Burdiasso——–Demichelis—-Otamendi-
———————————Romero——————————-
MEXICO
———Chicharito——-Bautista——G. Dos Santos———-
——–Guardado————-Marquez———–Torrado——
–Salcido———"Maza" Rodriguez——Osario——–Juarez——
——————————Perez——————————————