If Lionel Messi is finally going to add a World Cup title to his impressive list of accomplishments, he and Argentina will have to get through the Netherlands
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
DOHA, Qatar — Argentina and the Netherlands have a storied FIFA World Cup history against each other, so it’s little surprise the two will meet again here in the quarterfinals of the 2022 tournament.
If Lionel Messi is finally going to add a World Cup title to his impressive list of accomplishments, he and Argentina will have to get through the Netherlands (2 p.m. ET, TSN) at the Lusail Stadium.
As the Canadian national soccer teams head to their respective FIFA World Cups, Derek Van Diest is on the scene to cover all the action. Expect expert insights and analysis in your inbox daily throughout the tournaments, and weekly on Thursdays for the rest of the season.
Thanks for signing up!
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Corner Kicks with Derek Van Diest will soon be in your inbox.
The two countries will meet for the sixth time at a World Cup; the last was in the semifinals in Brazil 2014, when Argentina defeated the Netherlands in a shootout. Argentina then went on to lose in the final to Germany, much to the relief of the Brazilians, who didn’t wish to see its arch rivals win in their own home.
Argentina and the Netherlands first met in the final of the 1978 tournament, hosted by the South American country. The Netherlands came within a post of winning the game in Buenos Aires, but Argentina scored two goals in extra time for the 3-1 victory and its first World Cup title.
Argentina is now looking for its third, having last won the tournament in 1986 with Diego Maradona.
“We know that we will give it all on the pitch; we know that football sometimes can be very beautiful and sometimes it can be cruel,” said Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni. “It is a very, very thin line. We cannot really tell who are the favourites and who can win it, we are talking about evenly-matched national teams.”
The Netherlands has never won the World Cup, but it has been runners up three times. The loss to Argentina in 1978 was the second-consecutive final, falling to hosts West Germany four years earlier. The Netherlands also lost to the 2010 World Cup final to Spain.
Head coach Louis Van Gaal is in his third stint with the Netherland and was in charge in 2014 when it lost to Argentina in a shootout.
At the time, he was criticized for using up all his substitutions in the g Lionel Messi ame and unable to get backup goalkeeper Tim Krul in for the shootout, like it had in the previous round.
Starting goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen was not as good a penalty-shot stopper, and Argentina went on to win the penalty shootout with the Netherlands biggest weapon on the sidelines.
Following the World Cup, Van Gaal went on to run Manchester United of the English Premier League, where he coached Argentina midfielder Angel Di Maria, who said he was the worst coach he ever played for.
Van Gaal did not have much success at the club and was fired after two seasons.
“Angel Di Maria is a really good footballer,” Van Gaal said. “During his time in Manchester, had a quite a few problems in his private life. His house was broken into and that was of influence on his play that year. The fact that he calls me the worst coach, he is one of the very few players to do so.
“Usually, it’s the other way round. That really hurts me. I’m really sorry that Angel has said that. It’s too bad, but it is what it is.”
Netherlands has not lost during Van Gaal’s latest stint as coach. They take a 19-game undefeated streak into the game against Argentina.
“In my view, Argentina is a top country with top players in the group. The tournament is starting tomorrow for us, for real,” Van Gaal said. “Although I don’t want to downplay the importance of the other countries we have beaten, Argentina and then potentially Brazil in the next round are different countries than those we played up to now.”
The Netherlands was fortunate to be drawn into Group A with the host Qatar, Senegal and Ecuador. The Netherlands defeated both Senegal and Qatar 2-0, and drew 1-1 with Ecuador. In the second round, it defeated the United States 3-1.
Argentina was drawn into Group C and started the tournament with a surprising 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia. Argentina bounced back with a 2-0 win against Mexico and then defeated Poland 2-0 to advance to the next round, where it defeated Australia 2-1.
Scaloni was agitated at reports midfielder Rodrigo De Paul was nursing an injury and might not be available for the match. Di Maria is also ailing, which kept him out of the win against Australia.
“Firstly, our training (Wednesday) was behind closed doors, so I don’t know who you spoke to and I find it very strange that you know something happened with Rodrigo,” Scaloni said. “He’s fine, at least for now. We’ll see on today’s training if he will be on the match and I don’t know where that information came from.”
Considering the last two World Cup games between the teams failed to produce a goal, (2006 group stage), Scaloni is ready if the game has to be decided by penalty kicks, but he would rather it not come to that point.
“Regarding penalties, yes, the players practised that yesterday. They always practise penalties after the training session ends,” Scaloni said. “But taking a penalty in an actual game is a whole different story. Therefore, we hope it doesn’t come to that. We hope we can qualify before that and we’re feeling good about that.”