There were goals, of course, for one of the greats still on track to win his first World Cup.
Updated: Sat 10 Dec 22 at 09:41 AM
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Argentine Lionel Messi celebrates with teammates at the end of the World Cup quarter-final match between the Netherlands and Argentina at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar.Photo: Associated Press
Russell: Lionel Messi started the game by offering another football clinic. The Argentine superstar, who was bleeding from his upper lip at the end of the match, yelled at his opponent and even swore at the referee.
There were goals, of course, for one of the greats still on track to win his first World Cup.
Lionel Messi led Argentina to the semi-finals on Friday with a penalty shootout win over the Netherlands.
With a 2-0 lead, Argentina equalized in the 11th minute of second-half stoppage time to make it 2-2 in extra time before winning the shootout 4-3 amid the deafening din of the Lussel Stadium.
Messi scored a penalty in regulation time, which he converted in the shootout, while goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez made two saves to help Argentina face Croatia in the semi-final Team, Croatia defeated Brazil earlier on Friday.
After Lautaro Martinez scored the crucial penalty, Messi rushed to the goalkeeper who was lying on the side of the goal with his arms outstretched, and pinned him on top of him.
“We had to suffer,” Messi said, “but we got through it.” Messi in particular, two of them in a pitched game that often saw 17 yellow cards – a record for a World Cup match – It was given to Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries, resulting in him being sent off after the game.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni called the match “ugly” and Messi criticized Spanish referee Antonio Mateu, saying: “I don’t think he’s up to par. He’s been very harmful to us.” On Messi In a rare glimpse, he also interrupted his on-field post-match interview to hurl insults at Dutch two-goal scorer Wörter Weghorst.
“What are you looking at, dumbass?” Messi is heard saying.
In the end, Messi and his teammates lingered on the pitch for 20 minutes, taking turns dancing and jumping up and down in front of scarf-waving Argentine fans.
Messi says the late Diego Maradona is keeping an eye on the team.
“Diego is watching us from heaven,” Messi said of the former Argentina captain and coach who died two years ago.
“He’s pushing us. I hope it keeps going until the end.” It was the second time Argentina has reached the Final Four since 1990. In 2014, Messi was part of the team that lost the final to Germany and he looked in the mood to make it to the semi-finals again in a game that was turning into his own personal highlights.
Messi created the opening goal for Nahuel Molina with mesmerizing technique and vision in the 35th minute. He darted forward with a free spin in the middle of midfield, off-balanced Dutch defender Nathan Ake before delivering a blind reverse pass for Molina to complete his first international cap goal.
Marcus Acuna’s 73rd-minute penalty after he was tripped by Dumfries was his fourth goal of the tournament and brought his World Cup tally to 10th – tied with Gabriel Batistuta as the player with the most goals for the Argentine team. Messi now has 94 goals in his 169 international appearances.
With his side trailing 2-0, Dutch coach Louis van Gaal fielded two tall forwards – Weghorst and Luke de Jong – and even center back Virgil van Dijk up front. The game suddenly changed.
Weghorst headed home a cross from the right in the 78th minute – five minutes after being on the pitch – before scoring his latest second-half goal in the knockout stages of the World Cup.
Weghorst learned a neat free-kick routine at his Turkish club Besiktas, with Teun Koopmeiners feigning a shot from the edge of the box but turning the ball short into the middle of the box. It tricked the Argentine defense as Weghorst touched the ball, blocked his marker and opened the scoring on the run.
Enzo Fernandez hit the post towards the end of extra time to become the only Argentine player not to score in the penalty shoot-out at the time. Martinez’s saves came from Van Dijk and Steven Berg Hughes before he pulled his shorts up and did a jig.
The defeat ended the 71-year-old Van Gaal’s third spell in charge of the Netherlands. He was also the manager of the 2014 World Cup, when Argentina beat the Netherlands on penalties in the semi-final.
“Since we’ve come here,” said Van Gaal, “we’ve been focusing on penalties. We think we’re going to win the penalty shootout.”
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Argentine defenders Marcus Acuna and Gonzalo Montiel will miss the semi-finals after receiving their second yellow cards of the tournament.