A Brawl Nearly Broke Out During Argentina-Netherlands After Leandro Paredes Kicked A Ball Into The Dutch Bench

Argentina and the Netherlands played on Friday with a spot in the World Cup semifinal on the line. It was a tense affair between two sides with aspirations of winning the whole thing, and in the waning moments of regulation, a brawl nearly broke out between the teams after Argentinian midfielder Leandro Paredes kicked the ball directly into the Dutch bench.

It looked like Argentina was sitting pretty after Lionel Messi converted a penalty in the 73rd minute to give them a two-goal lead. But 10 minutes later, the Netherlands put a scare into them when a Wout Weghorst headed effort found the back of the net.

The goal put the wind in the Dutch sails, while Argentina started to hold on for dear life. And right as the game entered its 89th minute, tensions between the two teams came awfully close to boiling over. Argentinian midfielder Leandro Paredes came flying in while Dutch defender Nathan Aké carried the ball up the pitch and committed a challenge that earned him a yellow card.

And then, Paredes escalated things by hoofing the ball directly into the Netherlands’ bench. A number of Dutch players sprinted onto the pitch, while Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk came sprinting in and laid Paredes out.

Ultimately, all of Argentina’s efforts to see out the game were for naught, as Weghorst scored a second with essentially the last kick of regulation to send the game into extra time.

The winner of this game will take on Croatia in the semis.