Lionel Messi, a star striker for Argentina, criticized Netherlands manager Louis Van Gaal for “hitting long balls.” After his team defeated the Netherlands in their FIFA World Cup quarterfinal match. After a thrilling 2-2 tie that went into extra time on Saturday at Lusail Stadium. Argentina defeated the Netherlands 4-3 on penalties to advance to the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
After that, Messi said that Argentina is one of the four best teams in the world because they play every game with the same amount of passion and energy. “A lot of happiness and joy. We had to suffer, not undergo extra time or penalties. However, we traversed and it is amazing,” he finished up.
The Dutch dominated possession of the ball in the match’s first ten minutes.
The Men in Orange had one nervous moment in the eighth minute when a pass from Dutch keeper Andries Noppert to a defender turned out to be too close to Argentinean Julian Alvarez inside the box. However, nothing happened. Argentina, the two-time champions, made the only attempt from either side, but it was unsuccessful. The Dutch increased their possession dominance after ten minutes. The midfield saw a lot of action.
Steven Bergwijn was inside the Argentinian box when Jurrien Timber played a great long pass to him in the 18th minute, but goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was able to get the ball from the edge of the box. The Netherlands won a corner kick in the 21st minute, but the Argentinian box was easily cleared.
Messi, a star striker, wriggled away from Marten de Roon to attempt a long-range goal, but his shot went well wide of the goal.
The Netherlands also missed a chance to score in the 24th minute. Memphis Depay received the ball with his left foot, but his finish was way too wide. At the edge of Argentina’s box, Nathan Ake made an aerial pass to Cody Gakpo, but the young striker tripped Cristian Romero and gave Argentina a free kick. The Dutch had approximately 60% of the ball possession in the first 30 minutes, but there were no successful shots.
Lionel Messi provided an incredible assist in the match’s 35th minute. The legendary striker was able to spot Nahuel Molina, so he used the wide area to pass the ball to Molina, who latched on to it and scored past goalkeeper Noppert to make it 1-0. Alvarez fed Messi inside the Dutch box in the 40th minute. Messi tried to hit the post with a shot, but Noppert saved it easily. It was the Dutch player Wood who got booked.
A stoppage time of five minutes was added. Later, Argentine Romero was booked, and Wout Weghorst was also booked in the 47th minute. Yellow cards were pouring down. The score stood at 1-0 at the end of the first half, with Argentina having 42% of the ball possession while the Netherlands had 58%. Two yellow cards were dealt to each team. The Netherlands had only managed one successful shot, while Argentina had made three of them.
The Netherlands continued to enjoy a significant amount of time with the ball in the early minutes of the second half, but they were unable to score. Teun Koopmeiners and Steven Berghuis had been brought in as substitutes for Marten de Roon and Steven Bergwijn. Mac Allister received a pass from Messi when he came deep in the 59th minute. De Paul, who received a pass, was unable to convert the opportunity into a goal after the Netherlands had completely exposed themselves.
Argentina won a free kick in the 61st minute after Virgil van Dijk brought a foul on Lionel Messi. The star striker converted the free kick, but it missed the goalpost. After Dumfries was fouled in the Netherlands’ box, Marcos Acuna, Argentina won a penalty kick in the 71st minute. Messi converted the penalty kick in the 73rd minute for his 10th World Cup goal.
Tying former Argentine star Gabriel Batistuta for the position of joint-highest scorer for Argentina at the prestigious football tournament. Also, Messi continued his incredible tournament run by scoring four goals and assisting on two of his team’s nine goals thus far. In the 83rd minute, the Netherlands came back into the game with a goal from Wout Weghorst, who scored with a powerful header that was well out of Martinez’s reach.
The scoreline read 2-1 for Argentina yet they were going towards a few last cheeky minutes in the match as the chance of a balancer posed a potential threat to them. At the end of the 90 minutes, 10 minutes were added to the stoppage time. Argentina was in a state of panic in the very first minute when the Dutch were given a free kick because of a foul at the edge of their box.
It was taken by Bergwijn, who slammed it into a solid wall of Argentinians. Despite making numerous inroads into the Argentinian box, the Dutch failed to find an equalizer. In the 100th moment of the match, the Netherlands got a free kick, right on the edge of the case. With a goal from the free kick, Weghorst sent the game into extra time. At 2-2, the score was even.