Argentina reached the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup, for the first time in 24 years, after a hard fought 1-0 win over Belgium at the Estadio Nacional de Brasilia here Saturday.

Argentina's players celebrate their victory at the end of their quarter-final football match against Belgium. Photo: AFP

Gonzalo Higuain scored his first goal in this year's tournament with a brilliant first time volley in the eighth minute and that turned out to be the difference between the two teams.

Argentina, who had last qualified for the World Cup semis in 1990 Italia where they lost to Germany in the finals, became the second South American to reach the last four after Brazil.

Belgium's ouster means there could be two European countries and two South Americans in the final four.

Germany have already qualified after their 1-0 win over France Friday and the Netherlands could be the other, provided they beat Costa Rica in the last quarterfinal match later in the day.

It was a cagey affair with both teams finding chances at a premium.

Argentina looked more threatening on the break with Lionel Messi giving the opposition heartache as usual.