DOHA: Mercurial Lionel Messi has single-handedly carried Argentina on his shoulders after a major setback against Gulf side Saudi Arabia in their opening match of the Qatar World Cup.
The football genius found a way through against Poland and Mexico as La Albiceleste brought cheers to its fans across the world.
Messi also hit the target in a tight game against Australia in the last 16 round.
The last-eight match against the Netherlands at the Lusail Stadium will pose several challenges though to the Argentine side which is still to get into a dominating performance unlike Portugal and Brazil.
The Netherlands were also clinical in their 3-1 last-16 round win against an impressive USA side.
The Netherlands have already beaten continental champions Senegal (Africa), Qatar (Asia), and USA (Concacaf) in this World Cup.
The Dutch are now bidding to add another to their list – South American title holders Argentina.
The teams have met five times before at the World Cup. The most notable encounter was the 1978 final, which Argentina won 3-1 after extra time in Buenos Aires to lift the trophy for the first time. The South American side also came out on top in the most recent fixture, 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the 2014 semifinal, when Louis van Gaal was also in charge of the Oranje.
The Dutch have won their last three Fifa World Cup quarterfinals, including 2-1 against Argentina at France 1998, after losing their first quarters.
Argentina’s record at this stage is three wins and four losses.
One of those losses, versus Germany in 2010, was their second 4-0 defeat at the World Cup, the first having been against the Netherlands in 1974.
KEY FACTS
The last two World Cup matches between the Netherlands and Argentina finished without a goal being scored (2006 group stage and 2014 semifinals).
The Netherlands have not lost in their last 11 Fifa World Cup matches (W8, D3) – all with Louis van Gaal as coach. This is their longest unbeaten run in the history of the competition.
The Netherlands are unbeaten in their last 19 international matches (W14, D5); all since Louis van Gaal was appointed head coach in August 2021.
The Netherlands are unbeaten in their last 20 World Cup matches against non-European opponents (W14, D6), with their last defeat dating back to the quarterfinal against Brazil in 1994.
Argentina have lost only one of their last 40 international matches (W28, D11).
Lionel Messi has scored nine World Cup goals and is now only one behind Gabriel Batistuta (10), who is Argentina’s all-time top goalscorer in the competition.
Argentina have scored the first goal in each of their previous four matches at Qatar 2022.
Seven of Argentina’s last 13 World Cup knockout stage matches against European nations have required extra time.
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