Argentina Outlasted The Netherlands In Penalty Kicks In A Thrilling World Cup Quarterfinal

Argentina are moving on to the World Cup semifinal. After a shocking end to regulation in which the Netherlands drew level with essentially the final kick of injury time, neither side were able to find a breakthrough in extra time, setting up penalties in which a pair of players, Emiliano and Lisandro Martínez, were the heroes.

The Netherlands sent their captain, Virgil van Dijk, up first. The Liverpool star was unable to beat Emiliano Martínez, however, as the Argentinian goalkeeper who is known for his ability to stop penalties came up huge. Argentina’s response was a good one, with Lionel Messi stepping up to the spot and coolly slotting one past Andries Noppert.

With the Dutch behind the 8-ball, Steven Berghuis went first in the second round of penalties. But once again, Martínez was the hero and denied his effort.

Leandro Paredes went next for Argentina, and while Noppert guessed right, Paredes put the ball just out of the 6’8 goaltender’s reach.

Teun Koopmeiners became the first Dutch player to beat Martínez, who didn’t even dive to try to stop his effort. But Gonzalo Montiel was able to respond, as Noppert guessed incorrectly to put the Argentinians up, 3-1.

The heroics of Wout Weghorst, who scored twice to force extra time, put the Netherlands into this position, and Martínez was unable to stop his penalty. This meant that Enzo Fernández stepped up with a chance to put Argentina into the semis, but after a long run-up, he put the ball wide.

Luuk de Jong needed to score to keep the Netherlands alive, and once again, Martínez guessed wrong.

This put the weight of the world onto Lautaro Martínez, who would put Argentina through if he successfully converted. The Inter Milan forward was cool, calm, and collected, and even if Noppert guessed right, he had no shot of stopping the perfectly-placed penalty.

Now, the Argentinians are moving on to face Croatia in the semifinal on Tuesday.