Lionel Messi and Argentina continued their pursuit for the 2022 World Cup trophy as they beat Netherlands with a dramatic 4-3 penalties to book a semi-final match against unpredictable Croatia. Follow for more soccer sports news and updates here!
The Oranje’s late comeback from the two goals by Wout Weghorst shocked Argentina’s momentum throughout the match and attempted to give the favor to their side, but they couldn’t find the success in the extra time. For World soccer on tv today updates here!
Argentina Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is the hero of the match after he made a crucial penalty save that locked his team a spot in the semi-finals and beat the Netherlands. “Emi Martinez, a hero. We praise Messi, but Martinez is a hero,” Zabaleta told reporters.
This match will undoubtedly go down as a World Cup classic, as Argentina became the lone contender that kept its promise of taking home the World Cup trophy for its legend, Messi. However, the team needed to regain their focus and full attention ahead of the semi-final matchup against the ultimate underdog Croatia.
This match recorded an all-time high number of yellow cards with 18. Spanish referee Mateu Lahoz added a layer to the drama, releasing numerous yellow cards as he and other referees struggled to keep control of the game.
This is the fourth time Argentina have progressed in the quarter-final for the fourth time — while making a trip to the finals on the previous three appearances.
“Argentina were the better team. The last 10 minutes, we needed to play better; we gave free kicks away that gave the Netherlands a chance,” said Zabaleta. “It’s always good to see a South American team in the semi-final. The fans have been amazing tonight, right behind the team.”
Since the arrival of coach Lionel Scaloni, Argentina made an impressive stretch of winning — claiming the 2021 Copa America, which is the first-ever major trophy since 1993 and Lionel Messi’s first ever in the national team jersey.
On the other hand, the Dutch made significant progress in the tournament — they struggled badly and failed to make an initial strong impression in the group stage, but in the knockouts they shocked the football world by routing the United States men’s national football team 3-1 in the round of 16. The matchup between these two (Argentina and Netherlands) provided quite the history of football. But in this tournament, Messi and Argentina put an exclamation into their rocky relationship with the Dutch and pushed Albiceleste to the final four.
Molina and Messi lifted Argentina through the match, however the pesky defense of Netherlands did not let Argentina get away, which led to Weghorst’s two consecutive goals which ended in a penalty shootout.
The match ended with a sour scene — some Argentina players celebrated their victory in front of the distraught Dutch players that caused chaos and hot tempers to flare on the field. Messi is now just inches away from lifting his first World Cup and it will take another tough road or two to reach that dream, that final stage.
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