In another dramatic finish, Argentina found a way to get past the Netherlands in penalty kicks 4-3 after both clubs were tied 2-2 in regulation on Friday in the quarterfinals.
Nothing appears to come easy in this World Cup and each match brings out their best while playing a team like Argentina.
After the Dutch rallied from two goals down and tied the match late, both clubs played through 30 extra scoreless minutes.
Until the penalty kick shootout, when the Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez made to two world class diving saves. Lionel Messi, Leandro Paredes, and Gonzalo Montiel followed up with kicks. Netherlands tried to rally back on the kicks with the help of Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez who missed the clinching kick that just missed the post, but Lautaro Martinez made the final kick needed to take the match 4-3.
“Argentina are among the four best in the world,” Messi said. “Because we showed, we know how to play every game with desire and the same intensity. There’s a lot of joy and a lot of happiness. We didn’t have to suffer and playing extra time or going to penalties. But we got through it and its impressive.”
Next up for Argentina will be a second trip for Messi into the semifinals against Croatia, who reached the finals at the World Cup held in Russia in 2018. Croatia may have been the underdog in their match against highly regarded Brazil, but they scored a late goal in extra time and also won in penalties 4-2.
“We needed this and the whole country is celebrating now,” Messi said. “(Martinez) once again showed that he’s the best at saving penalties. Croatia is a great team. They move the ball very well; it will be very hard.”
Both Argentina and the Netherlands played in a shootout back in 2014 that was in Brazil, which Argentina had won that one and now are 5-1 in matches decided by penalties at the World Cup.
On Friday, Nahuel Molina scored his first international goal in the 35th minute by beating the Dutch defense after taking a through ball from Lionel Messi for a 1-0 advantage for Argentina.
Messi made it 2-0 for Argentina with a penalty kick in the 73rd minute after Marcos Acuna was knocked down by the Netherlands’ Virgil van Dijk in the 71st minute.
The Netherlands got a goal back in the 83rd minute from Wout Weghorst with a header off a Steven Berghuis cross that made the score 2-1.
Then, the Dutch with its rally cry found a tying goal in the 11th minute of extra time off a Teun Koopmeiners freekick outside of the box. Weghorst took the slotted pass past the wall beat a defender on the move and the keeper (Martinez) right before the end of regulation.
Head coach for the Netherlands Louis van Gaal was in his third stint as a manager. At 71-years old it might be his last one as he’s undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, and made it clear ahead of the tournament that this would be the last time in charge.
