A swish of Maxi Rodriguez's boot and the continued failure of Jasper Cillesen to save a penalty in his professional career are how the greatest fears of Brazilians for this World Cup have started to become all too real.

It's odd that losing 7-1 on their own turf might not be the worst thing to happen at this tournament as far as the hosts are concerned. That's the case, though, as Brazilians look at their World Cup wallcharts and see the team that destroyed their dreams and the team whose victory is their worst nightmare filling the final spot.

An Argentina win would add insult to Neymar's injury. As insults go, this is one that seems fairly innocuous when translated into English but if uttered to a local it leads to the kind of apoplectic rage that ends in 25-to-life. Put simply, Argentina lifting the crown is the worst thing that could possibly happen in the eyes of every Brazilian man, woman and child.

The rivalry between the South American neighbors goes beyond Maradona and Pele. Relations off the pitch are well-documented to have steadily improved from the Cisplatine War of 1825-28 and the mutual strategic partnership is regarded to be at its strongest yet.

On the pitch, it's a different story, and there's a good reason why matches between the two are known as the "Battle of the South Americans." Red cards and broken legs have been a feature throughout and for a decade following a game in 1946 both teams refused to enter competitions where the other was playing so they would not have to meet.

They are not going to meet at this World Cup. Brazil are out and Argentina are one win away from the most humiliating outcome that the hosts could have conceived. The script was meant to be a Brazilian victory in the Maracana as Neymar inspired the Selecao to a historic sixth World Cup. It's been redrafted to one where Messi finally comes good on the international stage to lead the Albiceleste to their third World Cup in front of hundreds of thousands of his countrymen in Brazil.

Thankfully, the Maradona-led Argentina team that Messi and his 22 fellow squad members have so far channeled is the 1990 vintage and not the 1986 world beaters. There will be at least 200 million people hoping that history repeats itself.