Dutch footballers want revenge against Argentina after 2014 elimination

Eight years after their last meeting, the Dutch men’s national football team and Argentina will again face each other at the World Cup. A place in the semi-finals is at stake in Friday's game at the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Al Daayen, Qatar.

At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Oranje went into a penalty shootout against the Argentines in the semifinals, with no goals scored in regular time or extra time. Louis van Gaal was also the Dutch national team’s trainer that year, just like this year.

Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder both missed from the penalty spot at the Arena de São Paulo. Lionel Messi, Ezequiel Garay, Sergio Agüero and Maxi Rodríguez manage to knock the ball past goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen, who is not a specialist at stopping penalties. One match earlier, Van Gaal pulled the goalkeeper minutes before the end of extra time against Costa Rica in favor of Tim Krul, who then saved two penalties.

Van Gaal paid a lot of attention to taking penalties and stopping penalties in the run-up to the World Cup in Qatar. He even brought former volleyball coach Peter Murphy to Oranje in September. Murphy spent time with the international players on penalties drills, but also the mental aspect that comes with it.

Argentina’s current squad was surprised by Saudi Arabia, 1-2, in their first game at the World Cup in Qatar. After that, the reigning South American champions beat Mexico and Poland both by a score of 2-0, with many enthusiastic compatriots in the stands. Australia was also defeated in the Round of 16 by a score of 2-1.

After the Round of 16 match, which was difficult for Argentina, star player Lionel Messi said, “We had the game under control, but we should have scored another goal." The Argentina captain added, "We were almost punished for it in the last minute. It was still very tense, but we made it." It was the 1,000th top-level football match in Messi’s career, and he scored his first goal in this tournament. That was his ninth in a World Cup final tournament, surpassing Argentine legend Diego Maradona, who scored eight.

Messi is looking to put the crown on a wonderful career during his fifth World Cup. The attacker, among the best footballers of all time, has won trophies at the club level. While wearing the shirt for FC Barcelona, he won the Champions League title four times and became Spain’s champion ten times. With Argentina, he took home Olympic gold and the Copa América. But the most important prize, the World Cup title, is missing from his record, and that stings, because Maradona managed to lead Argentina to the world title in 1986.

Oranje entered the quarterfinals by defeating the United States, 3-1, after a difficult start where goalkeeper Andries Noppert saved his first shot just three minutes after the kickoff. "Some matches require something different from us. Then we have to accept that," said Dutch footballer Cody Gakpo after the game. "Ultimately it's about the result. The most important thing is that we have stayed together and always will." He praised his team’s ability to score twice on three chances against an “aggressive” and energetic team.

Argentina has never won against the Netherlands in regular playing time in nine previous meetings. The Argentines did beat Oranje 3-1 in the final of the 1978 World Cup, thanks to goals from Mario Kempes and Daniel Bertoni in extra time in addition to their pivotal victory over the Dutch national team in the 2014 semifinals penalty shootout.

Oranje defeated Argentina in the quarterfinals of the 1998 World Cup, thanks to a fantastic goal by Dennis Bergkamp (2-1). The Netherlands also humiliated the Argentinians at the 1974 World Cup (4-0).