The overwhelming Netherlands and Lionel Messi’s Argentina face off in the second quarter-final of the Qatar World Cup. The semi-final battle between the two teams starts at 1 pm on Friday (December 07) at the Lucille Iconic Stadium.
If you win, the semi-finals are guaranteed. And if you lose, goodbye is confirmed. Lionel Messi gave the maximum in such a difficult equation match. Argentina took the lead in the 35th minute of the match. Molina scored with the help of Messi. Lionel Messi scored a penalty in the 73rd minute of the second half to give Argentina a 2-0 lead. Messi eased the team’s path to the semi-finals by scoring a cold-headed penalty against the Netherlands.
But despite falling behind 2-0, the Netherlands fought back with two goals to send the game into extra time. Ut Weghorst scored a pair of goals to equalize the Netherlands. With neither team finding a goal in extra time, a tiebreaker was resorted to decide the fate of the match. How many plays are there? Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez gave Argentina the lead at the beginning by stopping two penalties from the Netherlands. The Dutch scored in the third shot. Argentina scored on the first three shots. But Enzo Fernandez hit the fourth shot wide to seal the tiebreaker. The Dutch scored on both shots in the fourth and fifth. As a result, the fifth shot taken by Lautaro Martinez became the fate-decider of the match. This time, Laotaro did not make a mistake. As his shot went into the Netherlands’ net, Messi got excited. Argentina advanced to the semi-finals after winning 4-3. Where Messi’s opponent is Croatia who defeated Brazil in the previous match.
From the beginning of the match, both teams started to attack and counter-attack. In the 9th minute of the match, the Netherlands attacked from the left side. But they could not facilitate. Argentina attacked in 10 minutes of the match. But no one could touch Akuna’s height. Then in the 13th minute of the match, the Dutch goalkeeper Andre Knoppert took De Paul’s extended ball easily in his gloves.
In the 16th minute of the match, the Netherlands went on an organized attack. If the ball fails to touch the head from the right side, the Dutch do not get a goal. In the 18th minute of the match, Steven Bergwin failed to control the ball from the midfield. In the 21st minute of the match, the Netherlands earned a corner. But they could not use it.
Messi shot from outside the D box in 22 minutes of the match. But it goes over the crossbar. The Netherlands got an easy chance to score in the 24th minute of the match. Depay’s shot from inside the D box goes wide of the post. Gakpo crossed from the left in the 29th minute of the match. However, it was cleared by the defenders of Argentina.
Read More: Brazil Out of The Qatar World Cup, Croatia in The Semi-Finals
De Paul shot from outside the D box in the 33rd minute of the match. However, it was stopped by Andrew Nopert. Argentina scored in the 35th minute of the match. Nahuel Molina netted the ball from Messi’s pass. His goal gave Argentina the lead for the first time in the match. Molina scored his first international goal through this goal.
Messi shot from inside the D box in the 40th minute of the match. However, it was soured by Andrew Knoppert. The Netherlands gets a free kick in the 43rd minute of the match. But they could not use it. After that, if there are no more goals, Argentina goes into the break with a one-goal lead.
Argentina went on the first attack back from the break. They got a corner in the 47th minute of the match. But they could not use it. In the 48th minute of the match, Gakpo made a cross from the right side. However, it was easily taken by Emiliano Martinez. The Dutch attacked in the 54th minute of the match. But they could not use it.
Argentina countered in the 59th minute of the match. But they could not use it. Argentina gets a free kick from outside the D box in the 61st minute of the match. Messi’s shot from that free kick went narrowly over the crossbar.
In the 71st minute of the match, Argentina received a penalty due to Acuna’s foul inside the D box. Messi increased Argentina’s lead by scoring from that penalty. Argentina leads 2-0 in the match with his goal.
In the 79th minute of the match, the Netherlands attacked but they could not take advantage. Argentina attacked in the 81st minute of the match. But they failed to score from there. In the 82nd minute of the match, the Dutch got a free kick from the left side. However, it was cleared by the defenders of Argentina. The Netherlands scored in the 83rd minute of the match. Ut Wieghorst headed the ball in from the right.
Read More: Neymar Created History by Touching Pele With a Goal
Ut Wighorst shot again in the 85th minute of the match. But it was blocked by the defender. The Netherlands gets a free kick in the 89th minute of the match. But they could not be useful. The Netherlands gets a free kick from outside the D box in the extra time of the match. But they failed to score from there. After several attacks, the Dutch failed to score. Ut Wieghorst equalized for the Dutch with a free kick at the end of extra time. As a result, the match ended up in extra time.
Argentina went on the attack at the beginning of extra time. But they failed to score. Argentina gets a free kick in the 100th minute of the match. But they could not use it. Argentina gets a free kick from outside the D box in the 104th minute of the match. Otamendi failed to touch Messi’s extended ball. After that, if there were no more goals, the two teams ended the first half of extra time in a tie.
Argentina got a free kick early in the second half of extra time. Argentina got a corner in the 106th minute of the match. But they could not benefit from it. In the 109th minute of the match, Argentina got a free kick from the right again. There, Messi went forward with the ball with a shot free kick and shot from outside the D box. But it goes over the crossbar.
The Dutch get a free kick in the 112th minute of the match. In the 114th minute of the match, Martinez’s shot from inside the D box was blocked by the defender. Then Argentina got a corner in the 115th minute of the match. Enzo Fernandez’s shot from the corner went over the crossbar. After several attacks Argentina. But they failed to score. The match ended in a tiebreaker.
Read More: Why Didn’t Neymar Make a Penalty, Said, Coach Tite
Emiliano Martinez blocked Van Dijk’s shot in the tiebreaker. Then Messi scored the first shot for Argentina. Martinez also blocked the second shot taken by Steven Burgess for the Dutch. Parades scored the second shot for Argentina. Tin Kupminer then scored the third shot for the Dutch. Then Montiel scored the third shot for Argentina.
Justin Beeslow scored on the fourth shot for the Dutch. On the other hand, Enzo Fernandez failed to score in the fourth shot for Argentina. Then Luke de Jong scored the fifth shot for the Dutch. After that, Lautaro Martínez secured the team’s victory by scoring in the fifth shot for Argentina. As a result of this victory, Argentina reached the semi-finals. And the Netherlands left the World Cup after losing.