After a thrilling 2-2 tie, Emiliano Martinez helped Argentina defeat the Netherlands in a penalty shootout.
Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis were stopped by Martinez before Lautaro Martinez converted the go-ahead penalty kick to advance Argentina to the semifinal matchup against Croatia.
By setting up Nahuel Molina’s first goal and then scoring again from the penalty spot, Lionel Messi appeared to have given Argentina the victory in regular time. However, two late goals from Wout Weghorst extended the game past the 90-minute mark.
Ten minutes before halftime, Messi’s brilliance ignited a dull first half in which both teams were content to maintain possession but lacked the ability to do anything with it.
The Paris Saint-Germain player picked up the ball 40 yards from goal, swerved his body to take a few opponents out, and then passed it to Molina, who made a good finish from 10 yards.
After 73 minutes, Denzel Dumfries made a careless trip on Marcos Acuna just inside the penalty area, leading to Argentina’s second goal.
Messi made no mistakes this time, powering his effort to Andries Noppert’s left after earlier in the tournament Messi missed from the penalty spot against Poland.
Weghorst was introduced by Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal with 12 minutes remaining, and it was a brilliant move.
Five minutes after being introduced, Weghorst halved the deficit by heading in Berghuis’ inswinging cross. He then scored another crucial goal with almost the final kick of regular time.
Everyone in the stadium anticipated Teun Koopmeiners would attempt to score from a free kick 20 yards out, but instead, he slipped a deft pass to Weghorst, who finished the job by sliding it past Emiliano Martinez.
After the final whistle, players from both sides became involved in pushing and shoving in a game that had experienced frequent flashpoints in the second half.
Enzo Fernandez, who came closest with a 20-yard drive that smacked against the outside of the post in the final minute, was unable to help Argentina win in extra time despite their best efforts.
The Netherlands’ first two attempts to give Argentina the upper hand were then foiled by Emiliano Martinez, who then assumed the spotlight. To heighten the tension, Enzo Fernandez shot wide, but Lautaro Martinez scored with ease, setting off raucous celebrations.
Argentina’s next fixture
Argentina go forward to meet Croatia in Tuesday’s first semi-final while the Netherlands head home.
