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Messi and Argentina fought past a dogged Netherlands side in their toughest test yet in Qatar
We knew it had the potential to be a classic, and the Netherlands versus Argentina did not disappoint. It rarely does.
In a tie that had to be decided by the most dreaded outcome in football, a historically charged affair saw Argentina secure a spot in the semifinals despite blowing a two-goal lead with seconds to go against the Netherlands.
On a night befitting the spectacle that is Orange versus Albiceleste, Lionel Messi again stole the headlines by becoming the player with the most World Cup assists in the knockout stages of the World Cup since 1966.
His goal also saw him move to within one goal of Gabriel Batistuta’s tally as the Argentine with the most goals at the World Cup.
His ninth World Cup goal and fourth in Qatar helped Argentina earn a hard-fought win over the Netherlands who fought back from two goals down to force the game into extra time and penalties
First Half
After watching their neighbours and fierce rivals, Brazil suffer an upset at the hands of Croatia earlier in the day, the Argentines knew that they had to get their business done against the Netherlands as soon as possible.
They set out to break the deadlock as soon as possible and peppered the Dutch goal with five shots in the first half alone, while the Netherlands, with their 57% possession could only muster one shot, which was off target.
One of the Argentine shots ended up being the opening goal as a superb no-look pass from Messi cut through the Netherlands defence like a surgeon's blade and left right wing back Nahuel Molina one-on-one with Andries Noppert in the Dutch goal.
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At club level with Atletico Madrid, Molina has been starved of opportunities to be in positions like that, and the desire for a first goal of the season was evident in the strength which he displayed to keep possession of the ball, and the definitiveness with which he scored.
The assist from Messi, his fifth in a World Cup knockout match saw him surpassing the legendary Pele for assists in the knockout stages of a World Cup, making him the most generous creator in this stage of the World Cup since 1966.
Second Half
Messi was not done with just the assist, and he continued to torment the Dutch team, which, for their part, seemed to be content with just maintaining possession for the sake of it.
Argentina's game plan was to soak up the Dutch pressure and hit their defence on the counterattack since the Dutch wing-backs pushed so high up the pitch that they could no longer be called defenders in good faith.
Daley Blind and Denzel Dumfries were forwards in everything but nomenclature, and not long into the second half, Dumfries paid the price of defending with his front to goal as he committed a foul on Argentine wing-back Marcos Acuna that put the Netherland's qualification hopes in jeopardy.
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A penalty in the quarterfinal to take your team closer to the next round can be a daunting task, but one deep breath, a hop, and a skip later, Messi had the ball in the back of the net to make it 2-0 and give Argentina a huge helping hand on the way to the final.
Messi's hard work, helping hands, and magical feet might have dazzled the fans in the stands of Lusail Iconic Stadium, but all that was not enough to see out the win in normal time as the Netherlands pulled off an unforgettable and spirited fightback to send the game into extra time.
With seven minutes to go in normal time, and Argentine champagne on ice, the Netherlands scored what many hoped would be a consolation goal through substitute Wout Weghorst, who had only been on the pitch for five minutes when he rose highest to power home from Steven Berghuis' cross.
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Weghorst still had more in his tank, as with the last kick of the second half, he sent a dagger into the hearts of Argentine fans everywhere.
Profiting from a well-worked set-piece routine, Weghorst caught the Argentine defence napping and stroked home for his second goal to send the game into extra time, even though it appeared to be over just over 20 minutes before that.
Extra Time
In the first half of extra time, it was obvious that both sides were shell-shocked by the madness that just played out as they both ghosted around the pitch spending more time fighting than anything else.
There were no shots from either side, neither were there any corners, dribbles attempted, offsides or fouls in what was the most actionless fifteen-minute period in the whole game.
The second 15 minutes in extra time was an antithesis of the first half especially from Argentina who had 83% of the ball, had seven corner kicks, fired off seven shots and even hit the post through Enzo Fernandez.
The Netherlands played out the second half of extra time hanging on for dear life, believing that they would have the upper hand in the penalty shootout. However, after two penalties, they found themselves 2-0 down.
Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis both saw their penalties saved by Emiliano Martinez, while Messi and Leandro Paredes both converted from the spot to put Argentina in the drivers' seat.
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Although Enzo Fernandez missed Argentina's fourth penalty, it counted for little as Lautaro Martinez scored their fifth kick, sending the fans and players into ecstasy and Argentina into the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup.
In Total, the game saw 13 (yes, 13) yellow cards solely for arguments with the referee who both sides agreed after the game was abysmal on the night, with players from both sides suggesting that he never takes charge of another FIFA fixture again.
The win means that Argentina moves a step closer to glory by booking a semifinal date with Croatia who earlier pulled off a major upset to knock Brazil out.
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