Gonzalo Higuain’s Sweet Goal Helps Argentina Down Belgium (GIF)

When you think of Argentina’s national soccer team, the first name that immediately pops to mind is Lionel Messi.

The Argentines have a formidable cast of talent beyond their star player, however, and it was striker Gonzalo Higuain, 26, who stepped up big in his team’s quarterfinal game against Belgium at the 2014 FIFA World Cup on Saturday.

In the eighth minute, a friendly bounce placed the ball on the foot of Higuain, who delivered a perfect strike on the bouncing ball to beat Belgium goalkeeper Thibault Courtois and put Argentina up 1-0.

Higuain’s impressive goal would prove to be the difference-maker, as Argentina held on for the 1-0 victory to advance to the World Cup semifinals.

Before the final whistle blew, however, Higuain nearly netted another goal by blasting a short-range shot off of the crossbar. Higuan’s near-goal prompted a priceless reaction from Argentina’s head coach, Alejandro Sabella.

Review our Argentina-Belgium live blog >>

GIF via Twitter/@FlyByKnite

Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@2014WorldCup