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Argentina vs Netherlands (Image Source: Twitter)
Lionel Messi’s Argentina took on the Netherlands in the ongoing FIFA World Cup on 12 December 2022. It was the second quarter-final of this tournament that took place in Lusail Stadium. Argentina came to this clash after defeating Australia by 2-1 in the Round of 16. On the other hand, the Dutch were coming off after a 3-1 victory over the USA.
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So, the stage was set for an enthralling battle between these sides. However, before this clash, Brazil got knocked out of the tournament against Croatia. So, Argentina fans were eagerly waiting for their match as another good performance from Messi and his men was expected in this World Cup.
Argentina defeated the Netherlands 4-3 in the penalty shootout in the FIFA World Cup 2022
Speaking of the match, the game was quite steady until the first 20th minute. Lionel Messi found the ball at his left foot from his preferred angle in the 22nd minute. But, his shot went over the bar. Then, Depay and Bergwijn played a beautiful one-to-one in the 25th minute. But, their final effort ended far outside of the right post.
But, in the 35th minute, Nahuel Molina scored the opener for Argentina. Lionel Messi came up with that assist and Molina converted that chance. It was Molina’s first goal for his country while it was the seventh assist for Messi since the 1996 World Cups. Thus, the first half ended 1-0. In the second half, Messi had a chance to double the lead for his country in the 51st minute. But, Noppert was aware enough to prevent him. After that, in the 63rd minute, Messi hit a free-kick that was inches away from the goal.
But, in the 73rd minute, Messi did not make any mistake as he scored the second goal for Argentina from the spot. The referee awarded a penalty to Argentina due to a foul on Acuna. After that, in the 83rd minute, Wout Weghorst pulled back one goal for the Dutch. Steven Berghuis provided the assist. But, the Dutch kept fighting till the end and they scored the equalizer in the 90+11' minute. Thus, the game ended 2-2 after 90 minutes. Wout Weghorst scored that goal again for his country. In the extra time, no goals were scored as the game went into a penalty shootout. There, Argentina managed to defeat the Dutch by 4-3 and qualified for the semi-final.