A total of 64 matches are expected to be played in Qatar to decide the winner and the runners up of 2022 World Cup. The encounter between Argentina and Netherlands at the Lusail Stadium was the 57th out of the total 64.
The game was mixed with aggression, drama, anxiety and switches in couple of ways. Netherlands appeared promising with a lot of confidence both at the back line and upfront, with the likes of Memphis Depay, Virgil Van Dijk and Nathan Ake, while Argentina looked up to Messi.
Messi was not doing a lot of runs but any space he occupied needed protection from the Netherlands. At minute 36, Argentina managed to score an important first goal from an unusual source. Nahuel Malina scored his first in 25 matches for Argentina; engineered by Messi with a side-eye sublime pass on the diagonal.
The game stayed sturdy as the Netherlands possessed the ball forward with the intention to level matters up but Denzel Dumfries conceded a penalty for tripping Marcus Acuna. Messi scored to make it 2:0 for Argentina at minute 73.
Memphis Depay’s inability to find the net sent a signal to Louis Van Gal to tactically substitute him for Wout Weghorst’s in the 78th minute. Weghort’s late brace resurrected Netherlands back from the ashes. They were all levels (2:2) at 90+ 11 minutes. The game stayed two all until the whistle was blown by the referee after extra minutes played.
Two captains from both sides stepped up for the first penalty kicks. When Messi stepped forward, he scored but when Van Dijk went before Martinez, he missed.
Argentina believed in Martinez. He had a history; he guided the post for Argentina to win the COPA America. Emiliano Martinez was once again the hero during the penalty shootouts. He denied two penalty kicks to help Argentina beat Netherlands 4:3. It was joy for the South Americans but heartbreaking for the Europeans.
The referee, Antonio Mateu, issued nineteen yellow cards, the most in a single match in World Cup history. It broke the popular ‘Battle of Nuremberg’ (16 yellow cards) record of the Portugal vs Netherlands round of 16 match in the 2006 World Cup. Two out of the 19 bookings were given to Argentina’s coach, Lionel Scaloni and staff Walter Samuel.
After the win, Argentina made history. They have won 5 World Cup penalty shootouts, making them the team to have won the most World Cup shootouts.
