Headline of Argentinean newspaper El Clarin
"The national team added another victory and now it's the real challenge."
(La Selección sumó otra victoria y ahora arranca el verdadero desafío)
"Willing to beat its rival, the national team was aggressive since the beginning. With Buonanotte and Di María very active, the goal opportunities appeared soon. 4th minute: Lavezzi was face to face with Serb goalkeeper and captain Stojkovic, that beat him in the 1st duel of the night. Three minutes later, history repeat itself when the goalkeeper guessed Pocho's [LAvezzi] intentions. It was only a matter of time for Lavezzi to convert an opportunity so Argentina can take the lead.
The Serbs didn't rebel against the clear Argentinean superiority. Even Romero virtually never touched the ball. The national team imposed conditions during the first half, and the goal than came in the 11th minute was from the penalty spot, the previous play was fit for the talent that Batista [coach] brought to Beijing. Banega passed it to Di María. The former Central player lifted his head and since he had no company in the middle, Jovanovic showed how violent he was and brought him down. The judge Al Hilali of Omán pointed to the penalty sport and Lavezzi did the rest.
Betting to crowd the midfield was a great call Checho [coach], because Buonanotte, Di María and Sosa –a little flat- didn't just focus on creating the plays and spaces but accompanied Lavezzi well. The defense, meanwhile, didn't have a hard time either despite defending itself with 3 players. Mascherano was the last man because Gago and Banega worked Pareja and Fazio, the 'stoppers,' and Zabaleta made sure Di Maria was free to move.
There was no major difference. The Serb defense fought, unsuccessfully 
against the plays of Gago, the panorama of Banega, the ability of Buonanotte and the smarts of Lavezzi. Then, the Chinese soccer fans enjoyed soccer and the cries "Meeessi, Meeessi", was only heard in the first minutes. The absence of Leo wasn't too apparent.
Argentina played in some moments the minimum needed and almost suffers for its perfect definition. The shot of Serb Kacar from 40 meters that Romero sent to a corner kick was one of the goal chances Serbia had and that could have cost Batista's triumph. When Di María stopped going forward in the left, Banega and Gago could not cause danger in the box and Lavezzi was left too isolated.
Monzón for Sosa was the change Batista chose to reinforce the defence and put a back-four. Acosta for Lavezzi, the intention was to seal the victory. El Laucha entered the game inspired and with his speed complicated the opponents a lot on the left. In the 28th minute he combined well with Di María and was in front of Stojkovic, that saved the shot because the Sevilla forward defined very badly.
El Laucha continued doing what he does best and immediately created the 2nd penalty opportunity. Di María was not able to convert it despite the referee making him take it twice. Argentina with all its strength and 8 minutes from time, Buonanotte curled in a free kick to establish the 2-0 that would be the final score.
The testing ended and now is the moment of truth for the team of Batista that looks to repeat the gold medal achieved in Athens. With no surprises Brasil will be the obstacle in the semi-finals. But first, the Netherlands in the semi-finals. Checho will put again the "starting 11" saturday. When he goes to sleep tonight, he can be sure that he was right, "Substitutes are not substitutes."
- Your thoughts on this glowing report of Argentina's performance in Argentina 2-0 Serbia from El Clarin (Argentinean newspaper)?
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