Argentina is qualified for the semifinals of the World Cup in Qatar. The vacancy came with the 4-3 victory over the Netherlands in the penalty shootout, after the teams stayed at 2-2 with the ball rolling. The match was played this Friday (9) at Lusail Stadium, in Doha.
Argentina are through to the Semi-finals!@adidasfootball ?? #FIFAWorldCup
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 9, 2022
Lionel Messi was responsible for the sensational move that led to Molina’s goal. The star of PSG (France) started the counterattack, dribbled past an opponent and found a beautiful pass to open the scoring in the 34th minute of the first stage. The second half had Messi taking a dangerous free kick in the 17th minute. At 27 minutes, the striker perfectly took a penalty conceded by Acuña to make it 2-0.
In the final pressure, the Netherlands discounted with the forward Weghorst header after failure of the Argentine marking. And, incredibly, in the 55th minute of the final stage, Weghorst (who entered the pitch in the 32nd minute of the final stage) took advantage of a free kick by Berghuis under the barrier to finish and take the confrontation to extra time.
The creator ??#FIFAWorldCup ?? #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/dMlSTcCHPQ
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 9, 2022
In extra time, the teams sought the goal side by side, but the defenses were more efficient and the score remained unchanged, which meant that the vacancy was defined on penalties.
In the dispute of maximum penalties, the other hero of the game came into action. Goalkeeper Martínez saved the charges from defender Van Dijk and Berghuis to take the South Americans to the next stage with the score of 4 to 3.
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 9, 2022
Messi’s records
In addition to being one of the protagonists of the classification, Lionel Messi had at least two other reasons to celebrate. He completed 24 games in Cups, becoming, alongside the German Miroslav Klose, the second athlete with the most matches in the history of the competition. He is just one match away from Lothar Matthäus, who has appeared on 25 occasions at the World Cup.
And with the penalty goal against the Netherlands, Messi reached the tenth in Cups, equaling the legendary striker Gabriel Batistuta in the leadership of the Argentine artillery in world cups.
All of the emotions… pic.twitter.com/55zBVmMf9h
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 9, 2022
Now, Argentina will measure forces with Croatia, starting at 4 pm (Brasília time) next Tuesday (13) at the Lusail Stadium, to seek qualification for the grand final of the World Cup in Qatar.
