At the Lusail Stadium in Qatar, a thrilling match between Argentina and the Netherlands was decided by a penalty shootout, securing Argentina’s spot in the World Cup semifinals.
With a 2-0 lead going into the final 15 minutes, Argentina thought to have the game in hand. However, the Dutch made a dramatic comeback with to goals from substitute Wout Weghorst, the second of which came in the 11th minute of stoppage time.
After extra time, the score remained 2-2, and the thrilling game was decided on penalties.
Before Lautaro Martinez went up to win his side the shootout 4-3 for Argentina, Argentine goalie Emi Martinez stopped two Dutch attempts.
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Croatia, who won their own penalty shootout against Brazil earlier on Friday, will play Argentina in the semifinals on Tuesday.
What happened between two established giants of the game at the Lusail Stadium was extraordinary, even by the standards of a World Cup as dramatic as this one.
After Messi’s penalty kick in the 73rd minute and a goal from Nahuel Molina in the first half, Argentina appeared to be in control of the match. However, the Dutch turned the game around when Weghorst replaced Memphis Depay.
First, in the 83rd minute, the large forward rose to head in a curled cross from Steven Berghuis to halve the score.
The Dutch appeared to have time to create more chances as they hurriedly advanced when referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz added 10 minutes of stoppage time.
That was confirmed when they were awarded a free kick in the Argentine box’s edge.
Teun Koopmeiners positioned himself to shoot before passing the ball to Weghorst in what may go down in World Cup history as one of the most brilliant, ice-cold moments ever.
The large forward turned, nudged the ball past Emi Martinez, and put the ball in the goal, causing a commotion among the Dutch players and bench.
