Argentina and Switzerland are playing in the World Cup round of 16 in Brazil on Tuesday and the match is live on ESPN and WatchESPN at 12 pm ET and comes from the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo for the knockout stage and has the best player in the world in Lionel Messi and this is a big game for the Swiss after the group stage and it's another South American team looking to advance.
Brazil remains one of the favorites for the tournament along with Germany and Argentina and if Lionel Messi can play like he did in the group stages, they could be the team to beat. Costa Rica has surprised everyone and the Dutch survived Mexico and the Netherlands could be a strong team as well after making a run to the final last time in South Africa and losing to Spain. Argentina still has not yet played their best game during the tournament and matching up against the Swiss could be the perfect time for that, as this knockout stage has been close and dramatic, with multiple games already going to penalties.
Xherdan Shaqiri is the key player for the Swiss and he had a hat trick in the last game for the team and they rebounded after getting smacked 5-2 against France. The team won their other games and they will have to play their best to win against Argentina, especially if Messi is on his game and the team comes in after coming out of their group winning all their games. Sergio Aguero being out will make a difference for Argentina and while they have a deep and talented team, they will have to adjust with him out and his replacement is not an equivalent.
Messi has four goals in this tournament and Shaqiri has three and all of those came in one game and now the Swiss have the chance to get things right after getting outplayed at times in the group stage. Argentina will be a heavy favorite here, but they have not played to their potential either and they will be relying on Messi once again. The United States and Belgium is the last game of the group stage and that is the most anticipated matchup of the week with the way the US made their run into the round of 16.
Argentina has been looked at as a favorite in the tournament since the whole thing started and that is mainly because of Messi, but the team is also deep and talented and if they start off fast, that could doom the Swiss. The Switzerland side was knocked hard by France and Argentina has the potential to do that because of Messi, but they also have to make sure their back line is strong, as that has been a weak spot for the team at this World Cup.
The winner of this game will play against the winner of the United States and Belgium matchup on Tuesday and that is the most anticipated matchup on the schedule. The Americans were not given much of a chance at this World Cup and now they can get into the finals eight in the quarterfinals with a win and Jurgen Klinsmann has the team playing with pride and with confidence.
Check here for the Argentina and Switzerland live coverage from the World Cup.
