Netherlands vs Argentina: Argentina gets semifinals after penalty shootout victory against Netherlands to win World Cup 2022

Netherlands vs Argentina 2022 game

The prospects for Argentina as well as Lionel Messi winning the World Cup remain very alive following a nerve-wracking penalty shootout victory against the Netherlands in a thrilling encounter in Qatar 2022.

With a 2-0 lead with only 8 minutes left, with goals from Nahuel Molina as well as Messi and Messi, the Netherlands made a spectacular comeback with a Wout Weghorst brace ensured that the game was played to extra time.

The teams were unable to discover the winner within the extra 30-minutes, the game was decided by penalties. Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez became the hero of La Albiceleste, stopping two Dutch penalty kicks.

Martinez has earned an image for himself as an expert in penalty shootouts, securing three times in Brazil’s Copa America semifinal against Colombia last year. This established his status in the ranks of an Argentine Hero in Qatar.

After Enzo Fernandez was unable to convert the first penalty that could have brought Argentina victory the team’s Lautaro Martinez took over and hit the winning spot kick . make all the thousands of Argentine fans at Lusail Stadium into delirium. Lusail Stadium into delirium.

Argentina’s players were still on the field for a long time after the shootout ended to enjoy the adulation of their cheering supporters who will surely be celebrating all late into the night Qatar.

It was a remarkable conclusion to a game at the World Cup, which has seen all kinds of comebacks and shocks however this one may have surpassed the rest.

Spanish referee Mateu Lahoz, known for his eccentricity and love for the spotlight, certainly contributed to the drama by handing many yellow cards, including one during the shootout as he struggled to maintain control during the contest.

There were three brawls in the 120 minutes and penalty The first incident was ignited by Leandro Peredes smashing his ball directly to the Netherlands dugout on the other side on the playing field.

It was difficult to keep track of which players were punished by Lahoz, but according to FIFA 18 , yellow and red cards (two each for Dumfries) along with one red were slapped on players in the quarterfinal.

This game will definitely be remembered as an all-time World Cup classic, but Argentina must quickly return to the ground prior to the semi-final against knockout specialists Croatia.

A lot of Argentines have imagined the day when Messi likes the legendary Diego Maradona and lifts the World Cup. The day is an inch closer.

Messi’s World Cup swansong

A 35 year old Messi did everything in his power to make sure that Argentina stood the best chance of take home their first World Cup title since 1986.

There have been brief moments of the Messi magical football moments that fans have become accustomed to seeing throughout the years, including his amazing touch and finishing against Mexico in the group stage which gave Argentina an important win following the shock loss to Saudi Arabia.

Many fans wouldn’t have put Argentina among the favourites before the tournament began however with Messi playing for the team, everything is possible anytime.

Under the direction of head manager Lionel Scaloni, a former Argentine international the team is currently more successful than it’s been for a long time and in 2021 they won the Copa America, the national team’s first major trophy since 1993. Messi’s first time wearing the iconic white and blue shirt.

But, Argentina was yet to achieve a convincing 60 minutes of football in Qatar and the defensive flaws that have hindered the team in recent times will undoubtedly persist.

The Dutch were unable to be impressive in the group stages , but significantly improved in the round of 16 3-1 victory over The United States Men’s National Team and Memphis Depay’s opening move during that match with a thoughtful, probing team play which is certainly one of the top outcomes of this tournament thus far.

It is the 6th World Cup meeting between these two teams. This match has been a source of excitement throughout the many years. From a win that was inspired by Mario Kempes in the final of 1978 to Dennis Bergkamp’s stunning goal during the 1998 quarterfinals the rivalry was set for a new player to mark their name into soccer legends.

The first 35 minutes of the match were predictable and tense and neither team willing to take too much of a risk playing with possession.

Unsurprisingly, it was Messi who broke open an inflexible Dutch defense in a bizarre nearly impossible moment of brilliantness.

Moving towards the left-hand edge of the penalty box Molina was able to get his feet on the left-hand side of the penalty area Argentina captain made an astonish reverse pass that was perfectly in the direction of Molina who took a step and smashed the ball over Andries Noppert.

Replays of the incident showed Messi did not even glance up to look at Molina’s run or even see the pass, and even did he execute the pass, only he’ll be able to tell. When you think you’ve seen everything during his 18-year playing career, Messi still finds a way to make people squeal.

World Cup madness

When Messi made two goals from the spot in 75 minutes after the match, it appeared like the game was over. If there’s one thing that the World Cup in Qatar has demonstrated, it’s that these games will never be ending until the referee announces for full-time.

Offering nothing over the course of more than 80 minutes after the game, the Netherlands decided to smash long ball after long shot toward the Argentina penalty area, with a view at the 6 feet 6 inches substitution Weghorst or Virgil Van Dijk.

It was a huge success, as Weghorst was able to score a brilliant goal after Steven Berghuis’ delivery with less than eight minutes to go.

The goal led to an event that was followed by the first of three brawls.

Then, in the last moment of the game the Netherlands were granted a free kick right outside of the penalty area.

It appeared as if or Cody Gakpo or Teun Koopmeiners were about to take the ball towards the goal, but the latter executed a brilliant pass into Weghorst who flipped his back and slid the ball into Martinez.

This goal was the cause of wild celebrations as the whole Netherlands bench emptied out to cheer with the corner flag stifling all the thousands Argentina supporters who were so boisterous throughout the match.

It was a bizarre scenario for Weghorst who failed to impress on the pitch at Burnley as of late and has been loaned to Besiktas which temporarily puts an end to Messi’s inexorably move towards winning a World Cup title.

The fact is, Messi and Argentina were not going to let them down and remained cool on the pitch in order to end an amazing night of football.

There were a few more unpleasant moments that followed, however when some in the Argentina team cheered on the faces of dismayed Dutch players after Martinez had won the penalty that and caused the atmosphere to explode again.

Messi is currently teetering close to winning the first World Cup and it will need something special to stop the incredible player who is determined on winning the trophy he desires the most.