AGENCIES
December 8: Lionel Messi's hopes of winning an elusive World Cup will come up against the tactical scheming of veteran coach Louis van Gaal as Argentina face the Netherlands in Friday’s quarter-final at Lusail, Reuters reported.
Messi, 35, once again carries his nation's hopes on his shoulders as he looks to crown an extraordinary career that includes seven Ballon d'Or awards and multiple club titles, but only one Copa America to show for his efforts with Argentina, added the news agency.
“Messi can expect little in the way of sympathy from the 71-year-old Van Gaal, who is determined to give the Dutch their first World Cup title after runners-up finishes in 1974, 1978 and 2010. The coach’s planning will largely focus on containing Messi and catching Argentina on the break, as Van Gaal thumbs his nose at his critics by playing a brand of football at odds with the usual attacking Dutch approach.”
According to Reuters, the tactical plan is key to his side’s hopes of winning on Friday as the Dutch look to take revenge for their semi-final defeat in 2014 when Argentina beat them in a shootout.
Van Gaal also pointed to a run of form that has seen the Dutch go 19 games without defeat since he returned to the hot seat for a third spell 15 months ago.
This will be the sixth World Cup meeting between the Netherlands and Argentina, with only Brazil against Sweden (7) and Argentina against Germany (7) being played more often in the competition, according to Goal.com.
The sports news portal further said that the Netherlands have lost just one of their nine meetings with Argentina in all competitions (four wins and four draws), with that loss coming in the 1978 World Cup final. However, the most recent of those four draws did result in a penalty shootout defeat, in the last meeting between the sides in the 2014 World Cup semi-final.
The last two World Cup meetings between the Netherlands and Argentina finished 0-0, in the 2006 group stages and the 2014 semi-final (Argentina progressing on penalties).
The clash between Argentina and the Netherlands will take place Friday night at 12:45 am (NST).
