As part of the 50 days, 50 Argentina World Cup moments, we will be counting down the top 50 Argentina moments at a World Cup using the daily number.
We are just 23 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup and in 23rd place we have Ezequiel GARAY playing in his 23rd match for Argentina in their 1-0 win against Belgium at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
It was Argentina against one of the dark horses of the tournament Belgium in the quarter finals, a round in which Argentina had not made it passed since the 1990 FIFA World Cup. For Ezequiel GARAY, he had a new partner next to him as Federico FERNANDEZ was dropped from the starting eleven in favor of veteran Martin DEMICHELIS.
The two, alongside Pablo ZABALTA as a right back and Jose Maria BASANTA slotting in for Marcos ROJO, kept Belgium at bay and gave the team a clean sheet. The hero of the day was Gonzalo HIGUAIN who scored his first (and only) goal of the tournament and his fifth goal overall at a World Cup (with the previous four coming in 2010 in South Africa).
Gonzalo HIGUAIN scored early on in the match and one goal was enough to separate the two teams as Argentina had reached their first semi-final in 24 years.
Here was Argentina’s starting XI for the match:
1. Sergio ROMERO
2. Ezequiel GARAY
4. Pablo ZABALETA
6. Lucas BIGLIA
7. Angel DI MARIA
9. Gonzalo HIGUAIN
10. Lionel MESSI
14. Javier MASCHERANO
15. Martin DEMICHELIS
22. Ezequiel LAVEZZI
23. Jose Maria BASANTA
If you missed it, here are our 50 World Cup moments:
50: Sergio ROMERO gets 50th cap vs. Switzerland at 2014 FIFA World Cup.
49: Roberto AYALA scores in the 49th minute vs. Germany at 2006 FIFA World Cup.
48: Angel DI MARIA’s 48th cap for Argentina vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina at 2014 FIFA World Cup.
47: Mario KEMPES scores Argentina’s 47th goal all time at the 1978 FIFA World Cup vs. Peru.
46: Jorge VALDANO scores in the 46th minute at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
45: Javier ZANETTI scores in the 45th minute vs. England at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
44: Gabriel BATISTUTA scores goal number 44 in his Argentina career at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
43: Gonzalo HIGUAIN receives cap number 43 for Argentina vs. Germany in the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
42: Pedro PASCULLI scores in the 42nd minute for Argentina vs. Uruguay at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
41: Maxi RODRÍGUEZ scores in the 41st minute for Argentina vs. Serbia & Montenegro at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
40: Roberto AYALA plays in his 40th match for Argentina vs. Jamaica at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
39: Pablo ZABALETA plays in his 39th match for Argentina vs. Nigeria at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
38: Javier SAVIOLA scores in the 38th minute for Argentina vs. Ivory Coast at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
37: Maxi RODRIGUEZ plays in his 37th match for Argentina vs. South Korea at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
36: Mauricio PINEDA scores in the 36th minute for Argentina vs. Croatia at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
35: Ezequiel LAVEZZI plays in his 35th match for Argentina vs. Netherlands at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
34: Diego MARADONA scores his 34th goal for Argentina vs. Greece at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
33: Gonzalo HIGUAIN scores in the 33rd minute for Argentina vs. Mexico at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
32: Hernan CRESPO scores his 32nd goal for Argentina vs. Mexico at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
31: Diego MARADONA scoring in Argentina’s 31st FIFA World Cup match vs. Hungary.
30: Argentina loses opening match of 1982 FIFA World Cup vs. Belgium.
29: Argentina are knocked out of the 1982 FIFA World Cup after playing their 29th ever group stage match.
28: Claudio CANIGGIA scores in the 28th minute for Argentina vs. Nigeria at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
27: Pedro TROGLIO scores in the 27th minute for Argentina vs. the Soviet Union at the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
26: Diego MARADONA scores his 26th goal for Argentina vs. Belgium at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
25: Sergio AGUERO plays in his 25th match for Argentina vs. Germany at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
24: Diego MARADONA scores his 24th goal for Argentina vs. England at the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
