With the behemoth that crushed Brazil 7-1 commonly referred to as Germany waiting at the Maracana, Argentina and Netherlands fought for the only other spot up for grabs in the biggest game in soccer/football. But who claimed it?
Semifinal: Netherlands vs. Argentina
Result: 0-0 (Argentina won 4-2 in penalties)
Penalty Shootout:
Netherlands 1: Ron Vlaar (Aston Villa) unsuccessful
Argentina 1: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) successful
Argentina leads 1-0
Netherlands 2: Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich) successful
Argentina 2: Ezequiel Garay (Benfica) successful
Argentina leads 2-1
Netherlands 3: Wesley Sneijder (Galatasaray) unsuccessful
Argentina 3: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) successful
Argentina leads 3-1
Netherlands 4: Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbahce) successful
Argentina 4: Maxi Rodriguez (Newell's Old Boys)
Argentina advances upon winning the shootout 4-2
Bookings: 45' Bruno Martins Indi (Feyenoord), 49' Martin Demichelis (Manchester City), 105' Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke)
Lineups
Netherlands (5-3-2)
Jasper Cillessen (Ajax); Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbahce), Stefan de Vrij (Feyenoord), Ron Vlaar (Aston Villa), Bruno Martins Indi (Feyenoord), Daley Blind (Ajax); Nigel de Jong (AC Milan), Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV), Wesley Sneijder (Galatasaray); Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich), Robin van Persie (Manchester United, captain)
Changes from last match
Change from 5-2-2-1 to 5-3-2 formation. Memphis Depay replaced by de Jong in the starting lineup.
Subs
Daryl Janmaat (Feyenoord) 46' for Bruno Martins Indi
Jordy Clasie (Feynoord) 62' for Nigel de Jong
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke) 96' for Robin van Persie
Argentina (4-3-3)
Sergio Romero (Monaco); Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City), Martin Demichelis (Manchester City), Ezequiel Garay (Benfica), Marcos Rojo (Sporting CP); Lucas Biglia (Lazio), Javier Mascherano (Barcelona), Enzo Perez (Benfica); Lionel Messi (Barcelona, captain), Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli), Ezequiel Lavezzi (PSG)
Changes from last match
Change from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 formation. Rojo was no longer suspended so Jose Maria Basanta was left off the starting lineup in Rojo's place. Angel Di Maria was ruled out of the rest of the tournament which made space for Perez.
Subs
Rodrigo Palacio (Inter) 81' for Enzo Perez
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) 82' for Gonzalo Higuain
Maxi Rodriguez (Newell's Old Boys) 101' for Ezequiel Lavezzi
So in one semifinal match up there was technically a goal every like 11 or 12 minutes if it was averaged out evenly. This time was a barren goal wasteland. It's been an interesting tournament seeing teams more famous for their offensive players like Netherlands and Argentina pull out some major defensive performances but struggle offensively, and this match was simply more of the same. To Argentina's defense they were without Angel di Maria, which meant they were without their 2nd best player behind Lionel Messi (who was one of Argentina's better players throughout the match, creating lots of chances that needed better finishing from his team mates like Higuain, who couldn't add to his tally after scoring the decisive goal against Belgium in the quarterfinals. Javier Mascherano and Ezequiel Garay did well to prevent many Dutch attacks, which is saying a lot since Arjen Robben has had an amazing tournament. However Robin van Persie didn't contribute much, but it was shocking how later he was substituted for Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, especially since RVP would be many people's choice to take a penalty kick (though Huntelaar did score a heartbreaking penalty against Mexico in the Round of 16). Another shocker was Memphis Depay not playing, but instead Louis Van Gaal elected to bring in Jordy Clasie, the Feyenoord youngster (the only Dutch player on this team who plays his club football for Feyenoord and isn't a defender) who hadn't played a minute in any of the previous 5 Netherlands games at this World Cup, and Depay had scored 2 goals for the Netherlands, including a critical game winner against Australia. And this time the upcoming Manchester United manager trusted Cillessen to be between the sticks for the penalty shootout. Unfortunately Tim Krul's magic didn't rub off on the Ajax goalie, while Sergio Romero made a great case for him to either be a starter for Monaco (over 2nd string Croatian goalkeeper Danijel Subasic) or play in a better club next season, making saves that won Argentina the penalty shootout. One thing I'd like to point out is how Lionel Messi decided to kick first for Argentina in the penalty shootout, where as other big names like Neymar and Ronaldo preferred to take the last penalty kick. After a great run in the World Cup and being part of the funeral planners for Spain this World Cup, Netherlands failed to reach what would've been their 4th ever World Cup final. At least they can't lose at the final again now (although Dutch fans would rather see them reach to the final, right? idk)
I'll save the elimination analysis for Netherlands after their 3rd place match for Brazil
Up next
3rd place match: Brazil vs. Netherlands
These two teams last met in the 2010 World Cup Quarterfinals. Brazil were favorites to advance but Netherlands stunned them by winning 2-1. Can the Dutch inflict further pain to a wounded Brazil and make them settle for 4th place on their home soil, or will Brazil make a complete 180 (more like 720) and finish their World Cup run on a high note? The team with the most World Cup victories against the team STILL known as the greatest team never to win the World Cup: who will take the bronze?
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