Journalists around the world praise thrilling, emotional match between Oranje, Argentina

"The total football madness," is what de Volkskrant called the quarterfinals of the World Cup that the Oranje lost to Argentina on Friday evening after penalties. The Dutch newspaper Trouw wrote about a "thriller" that ended because "Oranje was shot home from the penalty spot." The AD simply headlined: "World Cup dream Van Gaal shattered."

The Dutch team fought back in the closing stages of regular playing time after trailing 2-0 (2-2). "After a masterclass by maestro Messi, FC Tikkie Breed changed in a beaten position to FC Aanval," the Volkskrant reported. According to the newspaper, the game was "opportunistic and effective" resulting in "a fascinating, fabulous extension."

But in the end, the Oranje lost the game because the Argentinians took the penalties better. "It still went wrong," wrote Het Parool. "The players of the Netherlands fell to the grass of disappointment and dismay," reported Trouw about Louis van Gaal's world title dream that turned out to be an illusion. "Even opportune fighting football was not enough for the Oranje," headlined NRC. According to the newspaper, there was "little to enjoy from the Dutch national team" in this tournament.

However, there were also more optimistic voices coming from the Dutch media. RTL Nieuws for instance, called it an "Incredible comeback not enough". The AD also reported about a downfall, but "in a heroic way".

De Telegraaf however, headlined "over and out" on the front page and also talked about a "penalty kick drama after a bizarre comeback".

Argentinian media called the match of the Dutch national team against Argentina a waterfall of emotions.

The weekly magazine Perfil called the match the best played so far at the World Cup in Qatar. But although the Dutch team regained control in the second half of the match, the Argentines still owed their second goal to the Dutch who seemed to be having a "siesta". In the end, the Argentines triumphed through "self-love, heroism and good football", wrote Perfil.

All Argentinian media, including the major newspapers Clarín and La Nación, were talking about the confrontation between the Argentinian captain Lionel Messi and Wout Weghorst of the Dutch team. After the game, a rare hot-headed Messi interrupted an interview to bite Weghorst, who walked by off screen, in Spanish: "What are you looking at, idiot? Get lost."

Foreign media however, called the match of the Dutch national team against Argentina crazy and exciting.

BBC analyst and former footballer Martin Keown spoke of an "epic tie". "It was typical for this World Cup. You couldn't say who would win until the end." The Guardian reporter wondered if he's ever seen a match like this before. "It was very disappointing in many ways, but it had drama and some great passes from Messi and Teun Koopmeiners." In addition, he was amazed at the typical English football that the Oranje played at the end to force the equalizer.

The German football magazine Kicker however, especially paid attention to Messi. They praised him and said that he will become Argentina's top scorer at World Cups with one more goal. British analyst Alan Shearer also had an eye for Messi's performance. "It's not a good team, but they have a genius up front."