5 Things on Argentina-Netherlands World Cup QF: Two Martinez’s keep Messi’s dream alive
Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez was the hero on the night, saving two spot kicks in the penalty shootout. (AP pic)
1. Messi drives Argentina through
For 83 minutes, it looked like a one-man show. Lionel Messi was carrying a lacklustre Argentina without being anywhere near his best.
The Albiceleste were poor and even the great man was less than celestial.
But a slide-rule assist for an opener and a cool-as-cucumber penalty seemed to be enough to put a disappointing Dutch side to the sword.
Telling but isolated reminders of his still-divine touch.
Lionel Messi scores Argentina’s second goal with a cooly-taken penalty in the 73rd minute. (Reuters pic)
But then a bullet of a goal from a nobody from nowhere suddenly breathed life into this tawdry and tetchy affair.
Wout Weghorst, loaned by Burnley to Besiktas, came on as a late throw of the dice by Louis van Gaal.
He blasted home and everything changed.
Netherlands finally mounted a fightback that had seemed beyond them. And Argentina were rattled.
Steven Berghuis hit the side-netting soon afterwards and the South Americans seemed to have done enough to keep their skipper’s dream alive.
Time – including all 10 plus minutes of added time – was all but up.
But a rash challenge by German Pezella just outside the box gave the Dutch one last chance.
The wall lined up and the crocodile lay down. There seemed no way through.
Teun Koopmeiners takes it – and befuddles everyone by passing it to Weghorst.
The big man takes a touch, turns and shoots past Martinez.
Mayhem. It’s 2-2.
It’s a passage of play – three touches – every bit as magical and memorable as Dennis Bergkamp’s wonderful goal in 1998.
It deserved a better denouement.
2. Two Martinez’s leave Dutch shaken and stirred
Who is writing this script?
If this had been a book, you would have put it down after the first chapter.
If it had been a film, you would have left the cinema in disgust.
And you would have missed an ending that Hollywood would have hesitated to script.
Argentina were cruising at 2-0.
But in the end, although Messi was THE man, it was left to the two Martinez’s – Emiliano in goal and Lautaro up front to seal the deal.
The Aston Villa keeper is a renowned saver of spot-kicks, having been the hero in the Copa America triumph over Brazil. And he didn’t let his country down.
His first two saves set the tone and were crucial to the eventual victory.
Both brilliant diving efforts that must have put a dagger through Dutch hearts. Both were well-struck but he read them perfectly.
The indefatigable Netherlands still managed to come back after being two-nil down in the shootout.
But it was Emi’s namesake Lautaro with the final kick to ensure passage to the semi-final.
Safe hands and a cool head did the job.
3. Cometh the hour, cometh the little maestro
When the full history of Lionel Messi’s story is written, this will not be among his better games.
Not even in the top 500 of the 1,000 plus he’ll end up playing.
But if he does fulfil his dream and lift the elusive crown at his final attempt, it will go down as one of the most vital.
Nothing was happening for half an hour. He’d hardly had a kick.
Whatever plan Louis van Gaal had concocted to subdue him seemed to be working.
Argentina couldn’t get the ball to him.
But then, in the 35th minute, he cut inside and with nothing really on, out of the corner of his all-seeing eye, he spotted Nahuel Molina running into a tiny pocket of space to his right.
There was no real room for the pass, Dutch defenders were everywhere.
No matter: through the eye of a needle, Messi found Molina with a perfectly weighted pass and the defender did the rest.
One-nil and everything in the Messi Garden of Eden was rosy again: he’d produced one of the great assists.
But as the game wore on, Argentina needed another goal for comfort. To avoid any agonising late drama.
And with time running out, it came in the form of a gift.
Denzel Dumfries, finding a sequel to his man-of-the-match showing last time a tall order, left a stray boot dangling. A clear penalty.
Up stepped none other than the skipper. The pressure on those slim, slightly sagging shoulders must have been unimaginable.
Facing him was the giant keeper Andries Noppert, so tall his head nearly touched the crossbar.
But Messi bamboozled him to leave him flatfooted on the line, and slotted home. That was surely that.
4. Van Gaal missed chance to change keepers
It was a sad end for Louis van Gaal. His side seemed overawed for much of the game – until it was almost too late. Overawed by the occasion and by Messi.
Cody Gakpo didn’t add to his value, even Virgil Van Dijk was less than his usual rock-like self.
But did the master manager miss a trick at the end?
Where was Tim Krul when he was needed?
Krul was the keeper Van Gaal famously brought on as a substitute for the shootout when it was not the done thing. It was back in his first stint as national boss – and it worked.
This time, he had Andries Noppert in goal who spent much of the game looking on the edge of tears.
He has no pedigree as a penalty saver and stood on his line like an unlit lamp post.
He did dive for a couple but looked clueless which made you think that either of the reserve keepers would have done better.
A Krul way to go out indeed.
5. Tasty ending after dire start
“Scrumptious possibilities” suggested commentator Peter Drury. But the first half was thin gruel – one of the worst of this World Cup.
Neither side turned up.
It was as if the shock of Brazil’s exit was weighing on the game.
Argentina seemed stunned to know their neighbours and great rivals wouldn’t be facing them if they made it to the semi-final.
Netherlands also seemed amazed that this giant obstacle had been removed from their path to an unlikely final.
The effect was to leave both bereft of ideas on how to get there. It was dire as was much of the extra time.
There’s no love lost between these two nations on the football field, and a fussy referee and feisty benches didn’t help.
But neither could get a grip on the game and even Messi was strangely subdued for half an hour.
It was tetchy and a terrible watch. Whatever happened to total football? Or Maradona-inspired magic?
Johan Cruyff would have been Cruyff-turning in his grave.
Even the Dutch kit lacked its former glow. Like the orange at the bottom of the basket.
And with cards floating around like confetti, there was more yellow than orange.
But if they’d only started playing earlier in the game.
