FIFA World Cup 2022: Netherlands, Argentina meet again with World Cup history in the air | Football News
Argentina has the pride of being a two-time world champion while the Netherlands carries the baggage of three defeated finalists.
However, the match is not a festival of nostalgia, but a contest between one of the greatest strikers of all time against one of the greatest defenders of the modern era, with Lionel Messi trying to get past a defense commanded by Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.
The game also places the youngest manager in the league against the oldest.
Argentina’s 44-year-old coach Lionel Scaloni, in his first major tournament, will have to overcome Louis van Gaal, 71, whose résumé includes championships with Barcelona and Bayern Munich as well as a title win the Champions League. with Ajax.
As always, the South Americans entered the tournament with high hopes of a win in their homeland to match those held in 1978 and 1986, while the Dutch had high expectations. because they failed to qualify four years ago.
Still, it’s been a smooth run in Qatar for the Dutch, who topped their group and then beat the United States in the round of 16 with comfort and style, looking solid at home. behind and – although critics say they are dull – increasingly effective in their attack Phat.
With Memphis Depay’s fitness slowly improving and Cody Gakpo having a good tournament, the Netherlands have an attack that many fear will lack.
Argentina started the tournament with a shock loss to Saudi Arabia, one of the biggest setbacks in World Cup history, but recovered to finish first. Messi then put on a show of form as they overcame Australia to secure a spot in the round of eight.
Van Gaal wasn’t surprised to see Messi’s creativity as a serious threat, but he raised his eyebrows when he suggested the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner lacked defensive ability.
“Messi is the most dangerous creative player, he can provide a lot of assists and score goals by himself. But when they lose the ball he doesn’t participate much, which gives us a chance.” I said.
What is surprising is that considering its tradition, Argentina has never beaten the Netherlands for 90 minutes in nine meetings in World Cups and friendlies.
But it was the victory on the penalty spot in Sao Paulo in the semi-final in 2014 that stuck in the mind of Van Gaal, who was leading the Netherlands at the time.
Van Gaal noted that while Messi was nullified by the Netherlands in that match, it was insignificant as the Argentinian came forward after the penalty shootout to end the Netherlands’ dream of celebrating a World Cup title.
A memorable memory for Dutch fans is the 1998 World Cup, where Dennis Bergkamp secured a place in the last eight with a superb last-minute finish in a 2-1 win.
Bergkamp is one of the many brilliant talents the Netherlands has produced since they brought the world to their attention in the 1970s with a team inspired by the brilliant Johan Cruyff.
Considered one of the strongest teams to have never won a World Cup, the Netherlands finished second in 1974 and 1978 – in the final then losing 3-1 to hosts Argentina.
Top technical skill and clever tactics have been part of the Dutch play since then but World Cup success has eluded them, with only the 1988 European Championship title providing some consolation. .
There are no players on the level of Bergkamp, Cruyff or Marco van Basten in the current version of the orange team. Perhaps only the towering midfielder Van Dijk deserves to be compared in terms of class.
But the Argentinians who know them football their history and struggles with the Netherlands, hoping to face a well-trained team that so far at this tournament has not seemed to have much difficulty.
“It’s not as brilliant as the Dutch teams before, but they’re very clear about what they do,” Scaloni said. “This is going to be a great match between two historic teams.”
