From BZ/dpa
In another insane penalty thriller, Argentina, led by assist and goalscorer Lionel Messi, trembled to the World Cup semi-finals against the Netherlands. On Tuesday it’s up against Brazil conqueror Croatia for a place in the final.
The South Americans beat the Netherlands 4-3 on penalties in the top eight on Friday night thanks to goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. After 120 crazy minutes, it was 2-2 (2-2, 1-0) in a highly charged and heated match with pack formation and well over ten yellow cards. The former Wolfsburg striker Wout Weghorst had made the two-time world champion tremble with a brace.
In front of 88,235 spectators, Messi & Co. looked like certain winners until just before the end of regular time against coach Louis van Gaal’s weak Dutchmen. Messi prepared the lead with a stroke of genius in his 1001st professional game when he put the ball in front of Nahuel Molina (35th minute).
Lionel Messi scores confidently from the penalty spot to make it 2-0 Photo: PAUL CHILDS/REUTERS
He scored the second goal himself with a penalty kick (73′). However, Weghorst caused extra time in the 83rd minute and the eleventh minute of added time. Nothing more happened there. It went to penalties where Martinez saved against Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis. Lautaro Martinez converted the decisive penalty.
After some initial difficulties, Messi left a helpless van Gaal on the Dutch bench after just over half an hour as a brilliant preparer. With a brief body trick he duped Nathan Aké about 30 meters in front of the goal, ran on with the ball at his foot, looked ahead, but without looking, played steeply and precisely to Molina, who didn’t give Andries Noppert a chance when he fell with his outside instep. Messi raised his fist and laughed at the audience – Messi experienced the World Cup in the best form of the glorious Barça era.
Whatever van Gaal came up with, it didn’t work at all for a long time. Only a little later Messi danced out Aké again, the shot with the weaker right foot did not cause any problems for Noppert.
Wout Weghorst shortened the lead to 1:2 with a powerful header Photo: KAI PFAFFENBACH/REUTERS
The Argentines had not once been able to beat the Dutch in regular time in the four previous World Cup duels. They won the final at home in 1978 after extra time, and the South Americans sat down in the quarter-finals at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil Penalty shootout through.
The Dutch were now challenged. Van Gaal made the switch, brought in two fresh players – but now played even more defensively on paper. The South Americans initially fell back a little more, but the van Gaal protégés weren’t really able to use that at first. And every time Messi got the ball in his 24th World Cup game, in which he drew level with Miroslav Klose and is only one behind record holder Lothar Matthäus, it got dangerous and loud in the stadium anyway.
In the last minute of added time, Joker Wout Weghorst saved the Netherlands into overtime Photo: MOLLY DARLINGTON/REUTERS
A free kick after a good hour after a foul on himself swept over the goal net. He aimed more precisely at the penalty kick. It was his tenth World Cup goal, drawing level with Argentina’s World Cup record scorer Gabriel Batistuta. Weghorst’s goal then burst into the constant song of the Argentine fans.
There were anxious and heated minutes. Pack formation, a red-worthy body check by van Dijk, and then ten minutes of stoppage time. The goal to make it 2-2 came in the eleventh minute of added time after an unnecessary foul by the Argentines. Instead of shooting over the wall, substitute Teun Koopmeiners passed Weghorst and he scored again.
This time to compensate: extra time and even the ultimate highlight with the penalty shootout.