In the second quarterfinal match of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, Lionel Messi’s Argentina will face the Netherlands on Friday (Saturday IST). The match between these two star-studded sides will take place at the Lusail Iconic Stadium and will be a repeat of 2014 World Cup semifinal. Eight years ago in Brazil, the South American team managed to get the better of the Netherlands on penalty shoot—out to secure a place in the decider.
And now, the Dutch team, which is managed by Louis Van Gaal, once again wants to take revenge and knock Argentina out. With the presence of Messi in the team, Argentina will be hot favourites for the match, but it would be foolish to rule the Dutch team out of the race. The European nation reached the final of the FIFA World Cup in 2010 and then played in the semifinal of 2014 edition. They have the quality to become a World Cup winner and are one of the four remaining teams in the competition which is yet to taste a defeat in Qatar.
They have managed to get the better of AFCON champions Senegal, hosts Qatar and US till now, and have played a 1-1 draw against Ecuador. On the other hand, Argentina suffered a shock defeat against Saudi Arabia in their tournament opener, but then they bounced back and are coming into this game on the back of securing three straight wins. For them, Messi has already scored three times in four matches and Manchester City youngster Julian Alvarez is also on fire and has two goals to his name in the last two matches.
Which team will win the FIFA World Cup quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands?
On paper and in terms of recent performance, there is little to differentiate the two teams. They have everything that a champion side needs to have in its ranks, but since only one team can progress from here on, fans can expect Argentina to get the better of the Dutch team once again and advance further in the tournament.
