BIG GAME ZONE

A ONE MAN TEAM? HERE ARE SIX REASONS THEY’RE NOT

TALK of Argentina being a one-man team is preposterous. Lionel Messi apart, Angel Di Maria (right) has just won the Champions League with Real Madrid, three of the squad — Pablo Zabaleta, Martin Demichelis and Sergio Aguero won the Premier League with Manchester City — and Gonzalo Higuain lifted the Italian Cup with Napoli. Javier Mascherano plays for Barcelona … you could go on. Messi is great but one man never makes a World Cup-winning team, just ask Portugal.

WILMOTS KNOWS HIS MEN

BELGIUM manager Marc Wilmots may have caused a surprise by picking veteran Daniel van Buyten at centre-half rather than Tottenham’s Jan Vertonghen, who had to fill in at left-back, but he knows all about the 36-year-old Bayern Munich player. The pair were team-mates in the Belgium team that reached the round of 16 at the 2002 World Cup before losing to Brazil.

RETURN TO FORM NEVER IN DOUBT FOR GONZALO

GONZALO HIGUAIN’S fabulous strike that fired Argentina into the last four ended his barren run in front of goal at this World Cup. However, he has got a proven track record in competitive international football, having scored four times at the last World Cup under Diego Maradona and nine times in qualifying as Argentina reached Brazil.

MESSI MAKES HIS MARK

LIONEL MESSI (left) attempted 13 passes in the first-half yesterday, which proved unlucky for Belgium. Each of Messi’s touches found its intended target, none more important than when he released Di Maria, who crossed for Higuain to score.