This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jul/09/argentina-holland-world-cup-semi-final-match-report

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Argentina win penalty prize to push past Holland and into World Cup final Argentina win penalty prize to push past Holland and into World Cup final
(about 1 hour later)
Once again Holland were reminded why it is only really the English who tend to be more petrified of penalty shootouts. It had been a recurring theme until the quarter-final against Costa Rica and this time Louis van Gaal had already used his three substitutes and could not bring on Tim Krul for his regular goalkeeper, Jasper Cillessen. Once again, Holland were reminded why it is only really the English who tend to be more petrified of penalties. It had been a recurring theme until their quarter-final against Costa Rica and this time Louis van Gaal had already used his three substitutes and could not bring on Tim Krul for his regular goalkeeper, Jasper Cillessen. Argentina had the greater accuracy from 12 yards and Lionel Messi will get his first World Cup final.
Argentina had the greater accuracy from 12 yards and Lionel Messi will get his first World Cup final. It had been a wretched semi-final until those moments when the players lined up in the centre circle for that last test of nerve and Holland should not just reflect on the inability of Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder to beat the Argentina goalkeeper, Sergio Romero, but also the fact their entire team did not manage a single shot on target during the 120 minutes that preceded the shootout.
It had been a wretched semi-final until those moments when the players lined up in the centre-circle for that last test of nerve. Arjen Robben and Dirk Kuyt both scored for Holland but Sergio Romero, Argentina’s goalkeeper, saved the first attempt from Ron Vlaar and later turned away Wesley Sneijder’s effort. Argentina were not a great deal more effective on a night that should reiterate Germany’s position as the favourites at the Maracanã on Sunday, but the prize for Alejandro Sabella’s team will compensate for the fact it had been such a dreary spectacle. Romero blocked the first attempt from Vlaar and produced an even better save, diving full-length to his right, to turn away Wesley Sneijder’s powerful effort. Either side of that second save, Arjen Robben and Dirk Kuyt had scored for Holland but, without wishing to apportion any blame on Cillessen, there was a good reason why Van Gaal brought on Krul when it reached this stage in the previous round.
Cillessen had never saved a penalty in 16 previous attempts. Messi safely put the first one away. Then Ezequiel Garay and two of the substitutes, Sergio Agüero and Maxi Rodríguez, all beat the Dutch goalkeeper. Cillessen had never saved a penalty in 16 attempts and that number has now extended to 20. Messi put the first one away. Then Ezequiel Garay thumped one into the roof of the net and it was the turn of two of the substitutes, Sergio Agüero and Maxi Rodríguez, to face the Dutch goalkeeper. They both scored. “I taught Romero how to stop penalties [at AZ],” Van Gaal recalled afterwards. “So that hurts. Losing 7-1 is the same as losing on penalties.”
Argentina had started the game encouragingly but Van Gaal had deployed Nigel de Jong for the first hour specifically to keep close to Messi and, when the Dutch midfielder was taken off, the four-time Ballon d’Or winner could not inspire his team. His Dutch team have contributed a lot to this tournament and they will also look back on that moment, approaching the end of 90 minutes, when Robben scurried free for the first time in the entire match only to be thwarted by a brilliant saving tackle from Javier Mascherano, just as he was shaping to shoot with the ball on his left foot.
At least Messi had the semblance of an excuse bearing in mind Van Gaal had deployed De Jong specifically to keep some reins on Argentina’s obvious threat. The tactic worked for the most part but that still does not fully explain why the two teams played with so little momentum or ambition. The truth, however, is that this was not the same, fluid Dutch team that had illuminated the competition with so much rich promise in the earlier stages. Perhaps they had peaked too soon but there were signs here of a team that did not fully trust in themselves. It made for a prosaic game, with Robben spending more time on the edges than he will care to remember and Robin van Persie so ineffectual he was substituted before the penalties. Their passing was stodgy and sideways and when Robben struggles to make any real impact the Dutch are never quite so effective.
For long spells, De Jong strayed no further than three yards from Messi. The first time he let him go, Messi took the ball and slalomed past Bruno Martins Indi and Daley Blind as if determined to bring the game out of its lull. Mostly, however, De Jong stayed close. It was a long night in the rain of São Paulo and it was strange to see two teams at this level looking so ordinary and short of ideas. The game started slowly and never really quickened up and, by the second half, it had become riddled with carelessness. For the past month, this tournament has had justifiable praise for its entertainment. Here, it would be a deception trying to talk up what happened. It was, in short, a stinker.
Messi is one of the few players in the world who can force opponents into these measures and at times Holland looked reticent, maybe even afraid, about risking their shape by committing too many players forward. After all the suave attacking play from Germany in the other semi-final, it made for a prosaic alternative. Messi, in flashes, showed what he can do. In other moments, he walked through the game. For the first hour, Nigel de Jong was deployed to keep him company. Messi is one of the few players in the world who can force opponents into these measures and, at times, Holland looked reticent, maybe even afraid, of risking their shape by committing too many players forward.
Argentina began the game as the more menacing side but the tempo was slow and there was a streak of apprehension, perhaps, about the way the first half unfolded. Messi bent a free-kick round the defensive wall but not with enough deception to beat Jasper Cillessen in the Dutch goal. Ezequiel Garay followed that up by almost turning in Ezequiel Lavezzi’s corner. Otherwise, there was little noteworthy from either side in open play. Argentina began and finished the game as the more menacing side but did not do a great deal in between. Maybe it was the tension that dragged the occasion down but there was a good half an hour when the Argentina fans had to make their entertainment, holding up seven fingers to indulge in some malicious pleasure at what had happened to Brazil the previous night.
Arjen Robben was struggling to get on the ball in dangerous areas and when that happens Holland never look quite the same. Messi walked through some passages of the game and De Jong did not really have to resort to desperate tactics to stop him. Sabella’s team were content defending deeply, then trying to hit Messi on the counter-attack, whereas Van Gaal’s players lacked width and penetration. At least there were sporadic moments of danger from Messi, including one jink to the left that would have taken him clear but for a splendid saving tackle from Vlaar.
Gonzalo Higuaín showed some neat touches but it was a tense, scruffy game and the Argentina fans had to get their entertainment in those moments by holding up seven fingers to indulge in some malicious pleasure at what had happened to Brazil in Belo Horizonte the previous evening. The brutal thing about the penalties was that Vlaar had been the outstanding player on the pitch. Messi did create a late chance for Rodríguez and an even better one for another substitute, Rodrigo Palacio, whose inability to beat Cillessen almost brought Sabella to the point of spontaneous combustion.
Van Gaal could be seen leaving his dugout midway through the first half and angrily gesturing to his players that he was not fully satisfied with their structure in an attacking sense. More than anything, they needed to involve Robben more. For Argentina, though, they were scenes of great jubilation at the end. Romero’s goalkeeping had made the difference and, in the process, confirmed a re-run of the 1986 and 1990 finals. If Sunday is to be remembered fondly, however, it might need Sabella’s team to open up.
No other player has put together more runs into the opposition penalty area in this tournament but he was on the edges far more than in Holland’s previous games. Messi was more willing to drop further back, often drifting into the centre-circle in his search for the ball, and there was another reminder of his talent with the control and run that culminated in Martins Indi collecting a yellow card.
Martins Indi was grateful for the leniency of the Turkish referee not to have been booked for an earlier foul and Van Gaal took the safety-first option at half-time by replacing him with Daryl Janmaat. Blind took over from Martins Indi in the three-man central defence while Janmaat was given the right-midfield slot and Dirk Kuyt swapped to the left.
Unfortunately for the game, there was no discernible change in the pattern of play. Argentina were content defending deeply, then trying to find Messi on the counter-attack, whereas Van Gaal’s players did not appear to have enough trust in themselves.
At least there were flashes of danger from Messi, including one jink to the left that would have taken him clear but for a splendid saving tackle from Ron Vlaar. Holland, however, lacked promise or imagination, content to play the ball sideways rather than breaking forward with any real intent.
Van Gaal’s next change was a more intriguing one because it meant the end to De Jong’s night’s work but the game seemed to be trapped in tedium by that stage and in the space of five minutes there was the sight of Kuyt and then Wesley Sneijder putting what should have been routine cross-field passes straight out for goal-kicks.
Agüero was brought on to enliven Argentina’s attack but Vlaar was having a splendid game in the heart of the Dutch defence and, after Javier Mascherano cut out a late chance for Robben, the subdued nature of the crowd told its own story as the game ambled towards extra-time.