Ossie Ardiles feels Argentina are set for their toughest test so far in the World Cup tonight - and believes a moment of magic from Lionel Messi could make the difference against Belgium.
The teams meet in the quarter-final in Brasilia - 5pm UK - with the Spurs trio of Nacer Chadli, Mousa Dembele and Jan Vertonghen part of the Belgian squad tasked with keeping Messi quiet as the teams bid for a place in the last four.
But as World Cup winner Ossie pointed out, it's not the easiest of tasks to keep his country's talisman quiet.
"It will be a very tough game for both teams" said Ossie, who helped Argentina lift the trophy in 1978.
"A lot of people were expecting Belgium to storm the tournament, that hasn’t happened, but they are a very efficient team and difficult to beat.
"One key thing they have to do now is stop Lionel Messi. That’s quite easy to say, but it’s much more difficult to do. Having said that, Argentina have a lot of quality, a lot of good players and we will need them all against Belgium.
"I think it will be tight but I just think Argentina have a little more, especially with Messi. Belgium have many good players, but no-one like him.
"When you get to this stage of the tournament, it’s all about the players who can make the difference, those moments of magic that can win games. I think that could well happen here.
"It’s Argentina’s toughest game so far, of course, and it will get tougher and tougher for whichever team gets through.
"If you lose, you go home, that’s it. So this is the most important game for the players on both teams and perhaps the biggest game of their lives."
The winners will face either Costa Rica or Holland, who meet in the final quarter-final in Salvador at 9pm.