FIFA World Cup 2022
Watch: Lionel Messi’s heartfelt celebration with Dibu Martinez after Argentina defeated Netherlands in the quarter-finals
Argentina emerged victorious in the quarter-final by 4-3 in the penalty shootout.
The riveting action continued in the FIFA World Cup 2022 as Argentina and the Netherlands got head-to-head against each other in the second quarter-final on Friday. The game turned out to be an exhilarating affair as whopping 16 yellow cards and one red card was shown in a sensationally dramatic and ill-tempered match. In the end, Argentina managed to seal the semi-final spot with a narrow victory margin of 4-3 in the penalty shootout.
While the rest of his teammates ran towards Lautaro Martinez, who had taken the winning penalty kick, Lionel Messi could be seen running towards goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who had made two sensational saves in the beginning of the shootout to put Argentina in front.
Watch the video here:
Everybody runs to Lautaro, who scored the winning penalty. Only Messi goes directly to Dibu Martinez, who saved two pens and is the actual hero of the shootout. True leadership.pic.twitter.com/kQcdJjE1OR
— Alex Truica (@AlexTruica) December 9, 2022
Tempers flared on a number of occasions throughout the match and it all seemed to boil over at that moment as well as Netherlands players could be seen clashing with the Argentinians at the other end while Messi was first celebrating with his goalkeeper, and then with the fans before running to the rest of his teammates. The fracas ended with Netherlands’ Denzel Dumfries being shown a red card.
Netherlands made a sensational comeback in the dying stages of the match
Argentina had a 2-0 lead, which they got to thanks to a goal from Nahuel Molina in the first half that was made and put on a plate by their captain Lionel Messi, who later converted a penalty in the second half. But they squandered it in the dying stages of normal time, with the Netherlands scoring the equaliser through a cheeky free-kick routine in the last seconds of added time.
The Netherlands equalized in the 11th minute of second-half stoppage time. Wout Weghorst scored a header on 82 to claw one back for Netherlands to set up a tense end that repeatedly boiled over. The Netherlands were handed a final lifeline with what looked to be the last kick of the match when midfielder Teun Koopmeiners stepped up to take a free-kick on the edge of the box before sliding a pass under the wall and slotted home by Weghorst.
Argentina will next play against Croatia in the first semi-final on 14th December.
