For the first time this tournament, Argentina started with a back three. For the 2nd straight game, Di Maria does not start .
The Netherlands’ only change was Bergwijn for Klaassen in attack.
Both teams played out a dull match in the first half where conservatism was preferred. That half had 0-0 written all over it, but for a display of brilliance by Messi, playing a perfect assist to Molina under heavy pressure.
The Dutch have a significant height advantage over the South Americans and they were dangerous in set pieces. That was their only threat for a large part of the game, as they struggled to weave anything fruitful in open play. Bergwijn’s wayward shot was their only one for a long time.
Argentina seemed to be safe after they doubled their lead through a penalty. Acuna was looking for it, but Dumfries fouled him carelessly nevertheless.
The Netherlands’ attack was finally awoken after they went 2 down. With Luuk De Jong already on the pitch, they brought on Weghorst, further extending their advantage in stature. Weghorst scored a header to inspire belief back in the Dutch.
It was as if the officials wanted the Netherlands to equalise, as 10 minutes of injury time was added. And in the 111th minute the Dutch scored an ingeniously taken free-kick, through super sub Weghorst again. Drama. I like this script.
More drama in extra time, as the two nations continued to play a pulsating, back-and-forth game. In almost the last kick of the game, Enzo Fernandez struck the upright after being given too much time on the ball.
The match headed to a penalty shootout. The Netherlands’ first two penalty misses proved too costly, as Argentina edged out their opponents 4-3 on penalties.
This game was yellow-cards galore, as a record-breaking 18 were handed out. It was a poor refereeing performance—he failed to enforce discipline and made himself too conspicuous. The best referees are the ones you don’t notice. Also, that was a clear straight red for Paredes for antagonism and dirty play. van Dijk should also have gotten a yellow card for barging him down.
Guardiola-trained Nathan Ake put in quite the shift today. He started the game at left centre-back, man-marking Messi. Then when the Netherlands went 2-0 down there was a change in formation where he shifted to left-back and bombed forward to provide extra numbers in attack, while having to keep an eye on Messi and Di Maria.
Overall Argentina were the slightly better team. Messi was always very dangerous and made the difference between the two sides. Argentina would have lost without him. The Netherlands’ attack was just too poor. They severely lacked a creative presence centrally to link defence and attack, and resorted to long balls to their towering strikers.
Argentina will face Croatia in the semi-finals. These two teams lost the most recent World Cup finals. One of them will have another shot at the big prize.
BLOGOPUS 