World Cup quarter-final preview: Netherlands v Argentina

The Netherlands will play Argentina in the World Cup quarter-finals on Friday 9^th December.

Path to the last eight

The Netherlands were drawn in Group A, arguably one of the easiest qualifying groups and began their campaign by beating Senegal with two late goals. They had to settle for a draw against Ecuador, before easing past the host nation Qatar.

In the round of 16, they proved too strong for an energetic but limited US team and were good value for their 3 – 1 victory.

Argentina made a terrible start to their campaign, losing to Saudi Arabia in what ranks as one of the biggest upsets in the history of the World Cup. Fortunately, thanks to the other game in their group ending in a draw, the damage was not as great as it might have been, and successive wins against Mexico and Poland saw them top Group C eventually.

They also faced easy opposition on the face of it in round 16 in Australia, and, helped by a dominant performance from their captain, Lionel Messi, were in control of it for large parts of the game.

However a late goal gave Australia unexpected hope and, in the end, the score-line was a lot closer than the Argentines would have wanted.

 Head to head

The two teams have played each other six times before, and the current head to head record reads three wins to the Netherlands and two to Argentina, plus one draw.

Five of those previous meetings have occurred in previous World Cups, most notably in the final in 1978 when Argentina won 3 -1 after extra time.

The last time they met in the World Cup was eight years ago at the semi-final stage in Sāo Paolo. The match finished goalless after 90 minutes and extra time, but Argentina won the subsequent penalty shoot-out by four goals to two.

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Prediction

The Dutch manager Louis van Gaal has insisted that his team need to be taken seriously as World Cup contenders, and, having largely flown under the radar so far, they must now be considered dark horses.

Cody Gakpo has cemented his reputation as one of the best young strikers in Europe, with three goals in the tournament so far, but this is a collective effort, and, unlike previous Dutch teams at international tournaments, egos appear to be well in check.

For Argentina, it is impossible to look beyond Lionel Messi, and his attempt to shrug off the tag as one of the best players never to win the World Cup. He was outstanding against the Australians and, if they are to win, the Dutch will give to stop the supply line to him, and deny him space.

The supporting cast have all done their jobs more or less, and Julian Alvárez now seems to have supplanted Lautaro Martínez as the main starting striker.

Quarter-finals are usually close and tense affairs, but one moment of magic from Messi could be the difference-maker in this match.