LIVE: Messi Provides Sublime Assist to Give Argentina Lead vs. Dutch
Lionel Messi recorded an incredible assist on his no-look pass to Nahuel Molina in the 35th minute for the 1–0 lead. Follow along.
Argentina’s World Cup run in what will likely be Lionel Messi’s final go has been a roller coaster thus far. Now, it faces the most talented team it’s seen yet in Qatar in the quarterfinals.
La Albiceleste have relied on some special moments from their talisman at times. Messi’s brilliant goal sent his side ahead in a 2–0 win against Mexico, and his strike against Australia gave it the lead a 2–1 victory in the last 16. Argentina nearly was on the wrong side of another shock result when the Socceroos came close to equalizing late, but La Albiceleste held on to return to the quarterfinals after missing out in 2018. They’ll need all they can get from their main man against a Netherlands side that has allowed just two goals during its World Cup run.
Manager Louis van Gaal knows Argentina all too well—he was manager in the 2014 World Cup, when the Dutch fell to La Albiceleste in penalties in the semifinals. But he has the Netherlands looking as dangerous as ever, and he was particularly on his game against the United States in the last 16.
The Dutch sat back and allowed the U.S. to control possession before striking on the counterattack in a 3–1 victory. Right back Denzel Dumfries had one of his finest performances in a Netherlands shirt, bombing down the right flank to assist two goals and score one. They likely won’t be able to employ a similar strategy against an Argentina team with loads of attacking talent, but the enigmatic van Gaal will look to slow down Messi & Co. as much as possible.
The winner will face Croatia in the semifinals after the side outlasted Brazil in a penalty-kick shootout in the earlier quarterfinal matchup.
The Netherlands got off to a nervy first 10 minutes, which began with Rodrigo De Paul blasting a shot that was just blocked by the Dutch defense. Minutes later, Dutch goalkeeper Andries Noppert nearly saw his pass intercepted by Julián Álvarez in front of goal.
But the Oranje settled in, owning possession and sending a series of crosses into the penalty area that briefly threatened Argentina. In the 24th minute, Steven Bergwijn sent a sizzling cross across the box that was just inches away from finding Cody Gakpo for the tap-in.
De Paul was involved once again from distance in the 33rd minute, when he took a pass outside the area with space to shoot but sent a weak shot that dribbled to Noppert for the easy save.
Two minutes later, Argentina struck first thanks to a sublime assist from Messi on the Nahuel Molina goal. Messi cut through the Netherlands defense just outside the penalty area before he slipped a no-look through ball to Molina, who slipped the ball past Noppert for the 1–0 lead.
In the 40th minute, Messi had another chance at goal when he feinted one way and turned to his left, but his right-footed shot was hit right at Noppert.
Follow along here for live updates and highlights of goals and key plays from throughout the match (refresh for most recent updates).
Here are the lineups for both sides:
Full World Cup squads
Netherlands
GOALKEEPERS: Justin Bijlow (Feyenoord), Andries Noppert (Heerenveen), Remko Pasveer (Ajax)
DEFENDERS: Nathan Aké (Manchester City), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan), Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen), Matthijs de Ligt (Bayern Munich), Tyrell Malacia (Manchester United), Jurriën Timber (Ajax), Stefan de Vrij (Inter Milan), Daley Blind (Ajax)
MIDFIELDERS: Steven Berghuis (Ajax), Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), Davy Klaassen (Ajax), Teun Koopmeiners (Atalanta), Marten de Roon (Atalanta), Xavi Simons (PSV Eindhoven), Kenneth Taylor (Ajax)
FORWARDS: Steven Bergwijn (Ajax), Memphis Depay (Barcelona), Cody Gakpo (PSV), Vincent Janssen (Antwerp), Luuk de Jong (PSV), Noa Lang (Club Brugge), Wout Weghorst (Beşiktaş)
COACH: Louis van Gaal
Argentina
GOALKEEPERS: Franco Armani (River Plate), Emi Martínez (Aston Villa), Gerónimo Rulli (Villarreal)
DEFENDERS: Marcos Acuña (Sevilla), Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Lisandro Martínez (Manchester United), Nahuel Molina (Atlético Madrid), Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica), Germán Pezzella (Real Betis), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Nicolás Tagliafico (Lyon)
MIDFIELDERS: Rodrigo De Paul (Atlético Madrid), Enzo Fernández (Benfica), Alejandro Gómez (Sevilla), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Leandro Paredes (Juventus), Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis)
FORWARDS: Thiago Almada (Atlanta United), Julián Álvarez (Manchester City), Ángel Correa (Atlético Madrid), Paulo Dybala (Roma), Ángel Di María (Juventus), Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan), Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)
COACH: Lionel Scaloni
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