Quarterfinals: Netherlands versus Argentina
Argentina was statistically more likely to win in their quarterfinals match against the Netherlands. However, there had already been an upset in the Brazil-Croatia game, so nothing was sure. The game was still going according to plan in the 69th minute as the score was still 0-1 Argentina.
Messi took a penalty kick in the 73rd minute, and it was a clean shot, slightly right of center, that Dutch goalie Andries Noppert read incorrectly and could not recover from.
With Argentina up by two, the Netherlands attempted a header goal that was precisely positioned and perfect. Argentinian goalie Damián Martínez just could not react correctly to Wout Weghorst’s header making the score 2-1. The Dutch may be down but they aren’t out of this game yet.
The kick-off from the first Dutch goal was funny to see with Messi flopping no more than a few seconds after the ball was set in play. The Dutch spooked the crowd with a power shot that hit right outside the goal but looked like it went in and revealed some gaps in the Argentine defense. As they watched, some Middleton High School students were saying that Argentina better clutch up on the defense or “they would get packed.”
In the 88th minute, an Argentinian received a yellow card that was absolutely deserved. But a fight broke out in response. It was delirious. Leandro Paredes kicked the Dutch bench. From the yellow card on, it was just a game of fouls. Three minutes into the 10+ extra time, there had already been four fouls. Meanwhile, the fans were wild. The Argentine fans were prevalent and so obviously invested in the game.
Down at 2-1, the final Dutch penalty kick, a result of the yellow card, determined whether the Dutch stayed in the tournament, and Wout Weghorst delivered, scoring the goal and sending the game to overtime.
Martínez needed to get his head in the game. He had no saves so far, and if they went into a shootout, I predicted another upset with the Dutch winning. Noppert had made some solid saves for the Netherlands, although even he had some goals that he failed to catch.
Near the end of the first half of extra time, the Argentines had a perfect set up to score but they failed to deliver.
At this point, I really did see the Argentine team losing this. They had lost the advantage and their goalie was not providing what Argentina needed. The second half of extra time, like the first, saw many chances taken but no goals at all. This set the game into a penalty kick shootout.
The first kick was given to the Netherlands. Virgil van Dijk took point while Martínez got himself ready for van Dijk’s shot. Van Dijk’s shot went to the left, and Martínez was there to meet and block it. Next was Argentina’s Lionel Messi. He had already scored a penalty shot in the 73rd minute, so could he provide once again? He could as he faked out Noppert, who jumped right, then passed it in through the middle.
The Dutch Steven Berghuis was up next. He kicked the ball to the right, and Martínez again was there to stop the ball as it bounced away. Argentina set Leandro Paredes as their next kicker. Paredes wound up the ball and kicked it above Noppert’s jump,making it 2-0 Argentina.
The Netherland’s Teun Koopmeiners knew he needed to score for the Netherlands to have a chance at advancing. He wasted no time to sink it in the right of the net, so fast Martínez did not even jump for it but watched it pass him, seemingly in slow motion, as the score turned to 2-1. For their third shot, Argentina sent out Gonzalo Montiel, who set up the ball, went back a few feet and powershot it to the right while Noppert jumped to the left: 3-1.
Next up was the scorer of the Netherland’s two goals of the game, Wout Weghorst. He took his time before sending his shot to the bottom left corner while Martínez flopped to the right, missing the ball completely. It was 3-2. Enzo Fernandez was up next for Argentina. If he scored, he would secure a win for Argentina sending the team on to the semi-finals.
Fernandez stared down the goal, crept up to the ball and shot too wide left of the goal. With no goal scored, theDutchman Luuk de Jong followed for the Netherlands. He had to score for the Netherlands to stay in the World Cup. His wind up threw off Martínez as he changed the speed of his approach, and Martínez slipped while de Jong scored with a pass shot to the left. 3-3: tied!
Now it was Argentina’s turn. If they scored here with Laurto Martinez , the game was theirs and they would win. Martinez made quick with his shot and aimed for the top left corner while Noppert jumped right. Goal. With that, Argentina clinched the win over Netherlands.
The Netherlands-Argentina game had much action and many penalties. In fact, it set the record for the number of cards pulled out during a World Cup game, a whole 15! The previous record was 14 in 2002. As far as the playing went, Argentina was too close to losing to this low ranked team and would need to play less rough, embracing their skill, as they continued through the tournament if they wanted to succeed. Martínez, the goalie, showed his skill in saving penalties and was the reason Argentina got an early lead in the penalty kicks.
The Netherlands played very well but might have gotten comfortable with some easy wins from their group stage matches and the round of 16 match against the United States. Unfortunately, it knocked them out of the tournament.
Argentina next played Croatia next in the semifinals as the Dutch returned to their country of tulips.