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It is never over until it’s over. For 83 minutes, this was a dominant Argentina performance, with another Lionel Messi masterclass, who registered a goal and a superlative assist that wrote the next stage of the script that ends one of the greatest ever careers in triumph.
He didn’t, however, reckon with Wout Weghorst, all 1.97m of him. The striker inspired a late outbreak of long ball football that saw the Netherlands return from the dead and stage a stunning comeback, forcing extra time with two late goals.
Extra time followed, and Argentina did all they could to avert a shootout, hitting the post and forcing multiple last-ditch blocks from the Dutch defence. In the end, it didn’t matter: the Netherlands butchered their first two penalties and never recovered, with Lautaro Martinez able to win the game from the spot.
It was both a classic and a terrible match at the same time. There were long periods of inactivity – the first half hour and the first period of extra time showed very little indeed – and flamboyant Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz was forced into showing 16 yellow cards, including some to coaches, subs and even two during the shootout, with Denzel Dumfries ending up with a red after full time.
Both teams criticised the officiating afterwards and plenty of heated exchanges were seen between players and coaching staff, with Argentina angered by the Dutch kick and rush tactics and the amount of injury time added, while the Netherlands disagreed with the penalty that was given for a foul on Marcos Acuna.
“I didn’t like the referee, but we didn’t lose because of the referee,” said Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal. “We came back, but still screwed it up after penalties. And the players have been practicing (penalties) at their clubs all year long.
“I asked them to take penalties because as a coach I want to have everything under control. But, as I also once said during a press conference, you can’t simulate it.”
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said he was surprised by the Dutch tactics but that they could play in whatever way they thought would work.
“They played in a way I didn’t expect from them,” he said. “But each team, each coach, decides how to play. I won’t speak about their football philosophy but in truth in the second half it was an ugly game.
“We had no chances and it was frequently interrupted but they are allowed to play how they wish. The game was heated. But this was a quarter-final. And what happens on the pitch stays on the pitch. Of course we had 11 men. Leo was a very important player and he showed that he is the best of all times and we are happy that he is on our side.”
For all the bitty and spiteful play, there were also outbreaks of the highest quality: Messi’s assist for Nahuel Molina’s opener was as good a pass as seen at this tournament so far, while the Dutch equaliser was a supreme piece of confidence and composure with their continuance in the competition on the line.
Argentina go on to face Croatia, who surprised Brazil earlier in the day, but will enter with the feeling that they are destined to achieve something for their superstar. As long as Leo is playing, they have no need to fear anyone.
For the most part, he was again the best player on the field by far. The switch to 5-3-2, made by coach Lionel Scaloni to match the Dutch formation, brought the best out of his star and allowed him to find space. It also freed the wingbacks to fly up the sides, with Molina scoring the first and Acuna winning the penalty for the second.
There was few wilier foxes out there than van Gaal, however. In what will likely be the last game of a storied career, the veteran managed bought himself another half hour by changing tack late in the game and hitting paydirt with an aerial barrage.
The Netherlands are known for their Total Football, but have never been averse to lumping it to the big man, as everyone from Dick Nanninga to Pierre van Hooijdonk and Jan Venegoor of Hesselink could attest, and brought on Wout Weghorst up top, with the big man halving the deficit.
In the end, with Virgil van Dijk, Luuk de Jong, Nathan Ake and Weghorst all in the box, it was more like an English lower league clash than a World Cup quarter final, but the Dutch didn’t mind. Weghorst scored in the eleventh minute of injury time to keep his side in the tournament.
In the first half, there was no inkling that this was going to be any sort of a classic. The football was as drab as it gets. The Netherlands were more than happy to sit in and accept what Argentina could throw. That plan has worked so far, but it was yet to encounter Messi.
As Mexico learned, as Poland learned and Australia learned – given that this was his 1001st professional appearance, the lesson has been a long one – you simply cannot keep the maestro out of the game.
His involvement prior to the first goal had been limited to one shot over the bar, and the match highlight had been former hardman Walter Samuel, now a coach, picking up a booking.
When it came, it came in spectacular fashion. We’ve seen Messi the finisher and Messi the dribbler, but this was Messi the playmaker: he took the ball 40m from goal on the right, shimmied past Ake, who had no idea whether to press or not, and then slid a pass between Daley Blind and van Dijk.
Molina, rushing from right wingback, could not believe his luck as he poked the ball in.
The Netherlands were forced to change tack at half time. They did accumulate more of the ball, but struggled badly to make any inroads into the defence.
Indeed, the better chances continued to come at the other end, with Argentina able to break quickly: Alexis Mac Allister butchered a clear opportunity by sending a pass behind Rodrigo de Paul.
Messi, after reducing one of the best centre backs in the world, van Dijk, to simply pushing him over, hit a free kick onto the roof of the net.
The second breakthrough came from a similar route to the first. The wingbacks again were the key, with Acuna, on the left, getting high and wide, taking on Denzel Dumfries and winning the softest of penalties.
Messi has been more than fallible over the years from the spot, but Andries Noppert could only stand still has the penalty hit the back of the net.
Louis van Gaal had to abandon Plan A and introduced Weghorst for a more simplistic Plan B. It worked, with the towering striker thumping a header past Emi Martinez off a Steven Berghuis cross. Berghuis himself caused conniptions in the Argentinian ranks moments later, rippling the side-netting with a powerful shot.
The more agricultural tactics were worrying Argentina. The benches cleared after Leandro Paredes fouled Ake, then, leathered the ball into the Dutch subs. The time it took for the referee to regain control blew the added minutes out to ten.
With that elapsed, the Netherlands had a do-or-die moment, a free kick on the edge of the box. With everyone expecting the shot, Teun Koopmeiners passed low to Weghorst who turned home. It was a stunning moment to cap a stunning turnaround.
After the manic finish to regular time, and the further bout of pushing and shoving that followed, it was perhaps inevitable that the first half of extra time would be a dud, with Argentina innocuously passing and the Dutch sitting in.
The second period saw much of the same: with Lionel Scaloni forced to turn to the half-fit Angel di Maria with ten minutes until penalties. He nearly created something immediately, shimmying to the byline and picking out Lautaro Martinez, who cannoned a shot off van Dijk.
Enzo Fernandez then had a presentable chance deflected behind and, from the corner, German Pazzella headed over. Lautaro then stung the palms of Noppert from range.
The chances kept coming. Messi, of course, had a shot blocked, di Maria nearly sent the corner directly in and Fernandez hit the post from the edge of the box. It was not to be for Argentina, and the penalties came.
The Dutch had fought so hard to get to this point, but when it arrived, they fluffed their lines. van Dijk sent his wide, Messi rolled his in and Emi Martinez saved from Berghuis. A series of successful kicks followed and, while an Fernandez miss gave the Dutch hope, Lautaro iced it on the final kick.