FIFA World Cup 2014 Day 4 Roundup: France and Argentina off the mark with wins, Swiss victorious as well

Karim Benzema of France (L) celebrates after scoring his team's third goal with teammate Blaise Matuidi during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group E match between France and Honduras at Estadio Beira-Rio

Day 4 of the World Cup brought about some kind of normalcy to the proceedings in Brazil as no major upsets were recorded. Both Argentina and France got off the mark in the campaign with victories although in very different fashions.

Les Blues were up against Honduras in Porto Alegre. The Americans decided early that playing with sheer brute force was the answer to help deficit the gulf in technical ability between the two sides. The game thus was a scrappy affair with niggling fouls all over the pitch. However, Luis Fernando Suárez's plans came undone when Wilson Palacios crossed the line one time too many and was given his marching orders.

A feud between the Stoke midfieder and France’s Paul Pogba had been brewing for some time and came to a climax with a just a few minutes remaining in the first half. The Honduran was adjudged to have dragged Paul Pogba in the penalty box, thus earning himself a second yellow card and in the process giving away a penalty.

Karim Benzema opened France’s accounts from the resulting penalty and there was no looking back from then on. The one goal half-time cushion was doubled within three minutes of the restart as goal-line technology came to the rescue for the first time in this World Cup. It was near impossible for the mortal beings on the field to adjudicate whether the ball had crossed the line from a Karim Benzema volley after it had struck the post and came off the Honduran keeper Valladares’ hand before being swept away by the keeper near the goal-line. That’s when science stepped in and became the kinght in shining armour for the French.

Benzema completed his stunning night in the 72nd minute when he smashed in the third to put the final nail in the Honduras coffin.

Messi, Di Maria — Angel Di Maria and Lionel Messi during the FIFA World Cup 2014 match between Argentina and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Lionel Messi made his first imprint in the FIFA World Cup tonight as he led his team to 2-1 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. After going goalless throughout the tournament in 2010, Messi struck for the first time at the stage with a stunner to seal the deal in favour of the South Americans.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first game ever in the world stage, they gave the Argentines a real run for their money but eventually came unstuck. Sead Kolasinac’s own-goal after just three minutes had brought early relief for the Argentines, but they looked awkward and without any kind of authority playing in their surprising 5-3-1-1 formation.

It was not until after half-time that Argentina looked anywhere near convincing as we had thought them to be. Alejandro Sabella pulled off a decisive double switch during the interval to help Argentina reverse to their normal attacking football.

That freed up Lionel Messi to set up the moment of the match in the 65th minute. The Argentine maestro went on another of his sublime runs and then was the finish to match. In a moment Messi made everyone forget all the struggles that Argentines had been enduring for the first hour of the game. Vedad Ibisevic’s late goal set up a tense finale indeed but that proved to be too little too late come the final whistle.

In the day’s early kick-off Switzerland pulled off a late stunner to overcome Ecuador after falling behind early. Enner Valencia had given Ecuador the lead midway through the first half. A Walter Ayoví freekick found Valencia completely unmarked is the Swiss penalty area. The striker happily obliged, putting the South Americans ahead from point blank range.

The Swiss had moments of their own as both Xherdan Shaqiri and Gökhan Inler tested the goalkeeper Alexander Domínguez. The Europeans also had a good shout for a penalty as the ball struck the arms of two Ecuador defenders in quick succession in the penalty box. However, their claims for a penalty was swiftly turned down by the Uzbek ref Ravshan Irmatov.

The moment that changed the game was at half-time when Otmar Hitzfeld brought on striker Admir Mehmedi on for winger Valentin Stocker. The move was rewarded just three minutes in as Mehmedi was there at the end of Ricardo Rodríguez’s pin point delivery to bring the game to parity.

Then, late in the game Haris Seferovi?, another of Hitzfeld’s substitutes scored the winner for the Swiss in the 93rd minute to win the game for La Nati. The Swiss broke on a counter attack themselves after absorbing a counter from Ecuador. Rodriguez was again instrumental as he found space on the left to deliver another venomous low cross for Seferovi? to guide it home.

Edited by Staff Editor