Lionel Messi can still dream of lifting the World Cup. For his 1001st official match, the seven-time Ballon d’Or helped Argentina qualify with a delicious assist and 2 penalties against the Netherlands. The Albiceleste, who led 2-0 after 73 minutes, nevertheless had to resort to penalties to reach the semi-finals in Qatar. Emiliano Martinez retained 2 Batavian penalties (4-3 on penalties)! On Tuesday at 8:00 p.m., Argentina will face Croatia, who fell Brazil on penalties.
Penalties are not a South American curse. Unlike Brazil against Croatia, Argentina “survived” this lottery in the quarter-finals of the Qatari World Cup.
At Lusail Stadium, the Albiceleste won 4-3 on penalties against the Netherlands in an often unbreathable encounter. She should never have gone through this session to reach the semi-finals.
Argentina had, in fact, led 2-0 until the 83rd minute before stalling when the finish line was very close. She owes a proud candle to Emiliano Martinez. The Aston Villa goalkeeper diverted the first 2 strikes from Virgil Van Dijk and Steven Berghuis to put his team on a royal path during this session.
The issue only fell after the penalty shootout for Argentina. [Evrim Aydin – AFP]
The qualification of the Argentines is, in a way, a victory for football. They didn’t really deserve to fall against the Netherlands who waited to be down 2-0 to finally start playing. The romanticism that this team could exude in the past seemed far away.
The Netherlands had snatched extra time thanks to a success by Wout Weghorst in the … 111th minute. Introduced in the 78th for Memphis Depay, the Besiktas striker had first reduced the score with a header in the 83rd, before abusing Enzo Fernandez on a clever combination from a free kick from Teun Koopmeiners.
Lionel Messi was the big man in this game. Before scoring his 4th goal in this tournament, his 10th in the final phase of the World Cup and his 95th in selection, he had “invented” a blind pass on the opener. He punctured the axis of the Dutch defense to find, we do not know by what miracle, Molina who concluded with a sharp despite the return of Virgil Van Dijk. This inspiration will remain as one of the finest feats of this World Cup.
ats/bao
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