Messi becomes hot topic in Netherlands & Argentina tie

Argentina's Lionel Messi (C) and teammates attend their training session in Doha, Qatar, 06 December 2022. Argentina will face the Netherlands in their FIFA World Cup 2022 quarter final soccer match on 09 December 2022. EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT

by Staff Reporter

Thursday Dec 08, 2022. 16:00

As two juggernauts in international football, Argentina and the Netherlands will battle for a place in the 2022 World Cup semi-finals on Friday night, with the tie set to take place at the Lusail Stadium.

Kick-off is at 9pm (SA, GMT +2)

Louis van Gaal’s Dutch army had to work for their spot in the quarter-finals, following their 3-1 win over the USA at the Khalifa International Stadium last week.

Known for being a team that pride themselves on total football, it was the North American outfit who often had Netherlands chasing the ball. However, goals from Memphis Depay, Daley Blind and Denzel Dumfries were enough to secure their place in the next round.

Speaking ahead of the tie, van Gaal revealed a tactical flaw in the Argentine game and mentioned that Lionel Messi has little effect on the game when out of possession.

“Messi is the most dangerous creative player,” the Dutch mentor said.

“He is able to create a lot and to score goals himself. But when they lose the ball he doesn’t participate much, this gives us chances.”

Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk spoke of the difficulties in facing Messi and that defenders have to be tuned in when keeping tabs on the Argentina number 10.

“You have to be so very sharp in terms of defensive organisation,” van Dijk said.

“They always looked for him to try to make it difficult for us on the counter.”

As for the South America side, Argentina booked their spot in the quarter-finals courtesy of a 2-1 win over Australia at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium last weekend.

Messi, who was arguably his nation’s best player in the tie, got his name on the scoresheet in the 35th minute. Thereafter, the reigning Copa America winners dominated the Socceroos and constantly looked for goalscoring opportunities.

Speaking after the match, Messi mentioned that Argentina struggled with fatigue and that the Australians presented a physical challenge.

“It was a difficult game, It was a difficult day,” Messi said.

“We had very little rest time, we were tired and we didn’t recover well. It was a very physical match.

“We want to be here because of what it feels like, what people transmit and what this is. We must continue united. We took one more step and now a difficult one is coming.”