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Wilmots: Argentina are ordinary

Cape Town - Belgium coach Marc Wilmots has labelled Argentina "an ordinary team" despite getting the better of his side in the World Cup quarter-finals.

De Rode Duivels saw their Brazil adventure brought to an end by Gonzalo Higuain's eight-minute goal which handed La Albiceleste a narrow 1-0 win at Estadio Nacional de Brasilia on Saturday.

It was the Belgians' best performance on the world's biggest stage since they finished fourth in the 1986 edition in Mexico, although Wilmots was left unimpressed by their opponents' antics during the last-eight encounter.

The 45-year-old tactician felt the South Americans wasted as much time as possible and claimed their vast experience took them over the finishing line.

He told reporters after the game: "We were not impressed by the Argentinians. They were just an ordinary team. They can distort the rhythm - they take 30 seconds to take a throw-in and the referee doesn't do anything.

"They had the goal, and [Lionel] Messi was one-on-one with [Thibaut] Courtois at the end, but how many shots have they had? If I played that way I would have been destroyed by the Belgium press.

"They didn't give us any space, this was a World Cup quarter-final and their extra experience probably counted for something."

However, Wilmots expressed pride in what his young team achieved at the tournament, adding: "We make a small, small mistake - Vincent [Kompany] comes out of position and they score.

"I'm very proud of the boys. I have told them: 'You guys are the youngest of all the last-eight teams.' There was a great deal of emotion, some of my staff were crying in the dressing room, because there is so much passion."

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