Qatar 2022: The second quarterfinal match of the FIFA World Cup 2022 also went to penalties, and Lionel Messi's Argentina managed to win 4-3 against the Netherlands to reach the semifinals. The match played at Lusail Stadium in Qatar capital Doha, packed with mostly Argentine supporters, saw attacking football from the beginning, with both teams trying their best to book a berth in the semifinal.
The first goal came at 34th minute of the game with Nahuel Molina successfully netting a Messi reverse pass. This was Molina's first goal for Argentina. Messi's assist was the 68th key pass of his World Cup career, with which he overtook Diego Maradona's 67 assists.
With a penalty given to Argentina after Netherlands' Denzel Dumfries fouled Marcos Acuna, Messi made no mistake in converting it into a goal as he found the right gap next to golie Noppert and sent the ball into the net at 72nd minute of the game. It was Messi's 95th international goal for Argentina and 10th in the World Cup as he levelled with Gabriel Batistuta as Argentina's all-time top scorer in the tournament.
Coming back to the game from 0-2 behind, the Dutch shrunk the goal difference soon with Wout Weghorst pulling one back. And just when it had started to look like the match was about to end in Argentina's favour, Weghorst scored his second goal at the 10th and last minute of the injury time and changed the game altogether.
The extra time, however, saw no goals and the match went to penalties. The Oranje missed the first two shots, and that eventually ended their journey in this World Cup.
Prior to this loss, the Netherlands had been unbeaten in 20 World Cup matches against non-European opponents, according to FIFA. Their last defeat was in the quarterfinal match against Brazil in 1994.
Argentia will now play Croatia in the semifinal on December 14.
ALSO READ: Croatia Beat Favourites Brazil In Penalties, Enter Semis Of FIFA World Cup 2022