Qatar: Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez saved penalties from Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis before Lautaro Martinez scored the winning spot kick to secure them a 4-3 shootout win over the Netherlands on Friday after their World Cup quarter-final finished 2-2 after 120 minutes. Argentina will next face Croatia, who beat Brazil on penalties earlier, on Tuesday for a place in the final.
Tensions boiled over when Leandro Parades kicked the ball directly at the Dutch dugout following a foul on Nathaniel Ake in the FIFA World Cup quarterfinal match between the Netherlands and Argentina. The incident happened when Argentina were leading 2-1 in the 88th minute when Paredes tackled Nathan Ake and was whistled by the referee for a foul. However, the real drama started when Paredes kicked the ball toward the Dutch bench.
The Netherlands players were quick to react and they immediately rushed out onto the field to confront Paredes. Dutch defender Virgil Van Dijk came running and hit Pardes while the rest of the team tried to make their frustrations known. The referee was somehow managed to get the players separated. Paredes and Berghuis were booked with a yellow card and play continued.
In the end, Lionel Messi-led Argentina emerged victorious when their goalkeeper Emi Martinez saved penalties from Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis before Lautaro Martinez scored the winning spot kick to secure them a 4-3 shootout win over the Netherlands on Friday after their World Cup quarter-final finished 2-2 after 120 minutes.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi had superbly set up Nahuel Molina for their first-half opener, threading a sublime pass through the Dutch defence, before coolly slotting in a penalty in the 73rd minute after Denzel Dumfries fouled Marcos Acuna.
In a scrappy half-hour of extra time with the scores level, Enzo Fernandez rattled the post in the closing seconds while Martinez and German Pezzella also had efforts blocked or parried away as Argentina desperately pushed for a winner.
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