Friday, December 9, 2022

Netherlands v. Argentina (World Cup Quarter-Final)

Here are the starting rosters.  I like seeing what clubs everyone plays for:

NETHERLANDS:

GK:  Andries Noppert (Heerenveen) (NED)
D:  Jurrien Timber (Ajax) (NED)
D:  Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) (ENG)
D:  Nathan Ake (Manchester City) (ENG)
D:  Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan) (ITA)
MF:  Marten de Roon (Atalanta) (ITA)
MF:  Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona) (ESP)
MF:  Daley Blind (Ajax) (NED)
MF:  Cody Gakpo (PSV Eindhoven) (NED)
F:  Memphis Depay (Barcelona) (ESP)
F:  Steven Bergwijn (Ajax) (NED)

I'm rooting for any team with a striker named Memphis Depay.

ARGENTINA:
GK:  Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa) (ENG)
D:  Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid) (ESP)
D:  Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur) (ENG)
D:  Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica) (POR)
D:  Lisandro Martinez (Manchester Utd) (ENG)
D:  Marcos Acuna (Sevilla) (ESP)
MF:  Rodrigo de Paul (Atletico Madrid) (ESP)
MF:  Enzo Fernandez (Benfica) (POR)
MF:  Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton & Hove Albion) (ENG)
F:  Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain) (FRA)
F:  Julian Alvarez (Manchester City) (ENG)

At the age of 35, this is probably Messi's last chance to make a difference at the World Cup.

They've been playing for 25 minutes so far, and almost nothing has happened.  Even in the world of international soccer, where almost everyone puts defense first, Argentina is known for really putting defense first.  So we could be here awhile.

On the other hand, Brazil likes to attack, and they were just bounced out on penalty kicks by Croatia.  So defense may be the way to go.

57 comments:

  1. And suddenly, out of nowhere, Argentina has scored! Messi, who probably is the greatest player since Maradona, got the ball in front of the goal, dribbled around the Dutch defenders, and slotted a perfect pass to Molina, who beat his defender and then beat the goalkeeper. Great, great stuff -- the stuff of legends from Messi. Argentina leads 1-0 after 35 minutes, and now they will really try to take the air out of the ball.

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  2. In fact, less than two minutes after that goal, an Argentina player is on the ground in agony.

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    1. Oh, it turns out the Argentina player isn't actually hurt and he's back in the game.

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  3. Remember how, back in the 1970's, defenses were really good at hammering wide receivers and jamming the line, and how the NFL changed the rules to open the game back up? To understand soccer, just imagine that the rules had never been changed, and now we had spent the last 45 years watching games where the typical score is 10-3, and 21 points feels like an offensive explosion.

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  4. Anyway, now that Argentina has scored, things will start to happen. In the 40th minute, Netherlands gets a free kick just outside the penalty area, but it comes to nothing.

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  5. The Dutch are in a very difficult position now. They have to score, which means they have to attack. But Messi is always lurking behind them, and if Argentina can get him the ball in space, he could put this game away.

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  6. It's impossible to overstate how happy Argentina will be if they advance on the same day that Brazil are eliminated.

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  7. Halftime: Netherlands 0 - 1 Argentina. Argentina is about 55 minutes away from a historic victory. Even for them, reaching the semi-finals is a huge deal.

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  8. Steven Berghuis, a midfielder who plays for Ajax in the Dutch league, has replaced Steven Bergwijn. Teun Koopmeiners, a midfielder for Atalanta in the Italian league, has replaced Marten de Roon.

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    1. On his podcast, Tony Kornheiser was saying he wonders if substitution strategy is more important in soccer than he realized--because getting a jolt from a fresh player in a game so taxing on endurance could be a big deal. I don't know the answer to that--I imagine you could look at goals in the aftermath of subs and pretty quickly come to an answer--but I did think it was neat that I remembered his comment after reading your comment here.

      Because look how much "Teun Koopmeiners" and "Tony Kornheiser" are so close to being the same name!

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  9. So far, the Dutch have not found a way through the Argentine defense. After 51 minutes, the Dutch have yet to put a shot on goal.

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  10. Messi has never won a World Cup. He has, however, won the Champions League four times with Barcelona: 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2015. He took Argentina to the final in 2014, but they were beaten 1-0 by Germany.

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  11. Here's what Argentina has. They have a line of five defenders at the back, who are basically staying parallel with each other to set offside traps. Four other players are basically playing a tight man-to-man defense against any Dutch player who gets close to the ball. And Messi is drifting around in the middle of the field, ready to lead a breakout if the opportunity presents itself. So far, the Dutch have not come close to breaking through.

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    1. For so many years, close Dolphins losses to good teams always felt like the good teams were playing some sort of strategy like this one.

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  12. In the 56th minute, the Dutch lose the ball, and Argentina spends a couple of minutes playing keep-away in the middle of the field. Then the Netherlands regains possession, and Argentina falls back into its defense.

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  13. 60 minutes: Netherlands 0 - 1 Argentina

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  14. Messi gets the ball and starts on another run through the Dutch defense. This time, they knock him down just outside the penalty area, giving Argentina a free kick.

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  15. Messi goes for it with the free kick -- a screamer that just goes over the Dutch wall and is headed for the upper right corner of the goal. But the ball is hit a bit too high and it just goes over the cross bar.

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  16. The Dutch are running out of time, so they bring on Luuk de Jong, a striker who plays for PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch league. He replaces Daley Blind. Berghuis is playing at the front as a winger, so the Dutch now have three attacking players instead of two.

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  17. Argentina brings on Leandro Paredes, a defensive midfielder who plays for Juventus in the Italian league, which is like playing linebacker for the Chicago Bears. He replaces Rodrigo de Paul.

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  18. So far, in 69 minutes of soccer, the Dutch have taken only one shot -- and that shot was off target.

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  19. In the 71st minute, Argentina gets another counter-attack going, and this time the Dutch are called for a penalty. Now Messi can bury the Dutch once and for all.

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  20. Watching Messi standing over the penalty gives you much the same feeling as watching Tom Brady at the other team's ten-yard line. He's old, but you're pretty confident he's going to take care of business. And so he does, gently trotting up to the ball and hitting it into the far corner of the goal. That's actually a hard shot -- it's easy to miss altogether, or hit the post, which is how Brazil lost on penalties earlier today. But Messi's shot is perfect. Argentina leads 2-0, and they are going to the Final Four.

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  21. Argentina has been completely dominant in this game. For decades, their strategy has been to lock you down on defense, and score on counter-attacks. Rarely have they implemented it more effectively than they have today.

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  22. Remember that the Dutch had played 19 games in a row without a loss. When they played the Americans last Saturday, the gap between the two teams was so large that it looked like a friendly for the Netherlands. They are really, really good, and Argentina has completely shut them down.

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    1. Yes, the tone of this entire report has felt very bleak for U.S. soccer for the rest of my life, anyway.

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  23. That's all for Memphis Depay, who hasn't had a very good game. He's replaced by Wout Weghorst, a striker for Besiktas in the Turkish League.

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  24. 80 minutes: Netherlands 0 - 2 Argentina

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  25. Argentina makes three changes. German Pezzella, a defender for Real Betis in the Spanish League; Nicolas Tagliafico, a defender for Lyon in the French League; and Lautaro Martinez, a striker for Inter Milan in the Italian League, enter the game. They replace Cristian Romero, Marcos Acuna, and Julian Alvarez.

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  26. Meanwhile, the game has come back to life. Having proved completely unable to break down the Argentine defense, the Dutch have started kicking long balls into the penalty box in the hopes of getting something done. That's why they replaced Depay (a quick running sort of striker) with Weghorst (a big banger). And in the 82d minute, this strategy pays off: there's a long cross pass into the box, and Weghorst heads it in! The Dutch aren't finished yet!

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  27. 87th minute: Netherlands 1 - 2 Argentina

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  28. And now things are really getting desperate. This game has been chippy for some time, but just now we had a near brawl on the sideline. The referee is handing out yellow cards, and the Dutch get a free kick. But the kick is too long, and Argentina gets a goal kick with 89 minutes gone.

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  29. There will be ten minutes of injury time. FIFA has been much more aggressive about injury time in this World Cup, and Argentina has engaged in a great deal of time-wasting in this half.

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  30. Now the Dutch have a really good free kick, just in front of the Argentine penalty box. As the Argentines form their wall, the Dutch have three guys who will be standing over the ball.

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  31. Blunder for the Dutch, as Berghuis kicks the ball right into the Argentine wall.

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  32. See, normally you don't want to feed those long passes into the box against Argentina, because it sets up their fast break going the other way. But the Dutch have no time left to be cute -- they have to go for it. This is very entertaining stuff now.

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  33. As long as the ball stayed on the ground, Argentina was very comfortable. But the Dutch players are generally bigger than their counterparts, especially with the substitutes up front. So long passes and headers are very dangerous here.

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  34. Well, this will go down as a classic. In the 10th minute of injury time, the Dutch got another free kick in front of the box. This time, instead of shooting straight at the wall, they threaded a delicate pass through the Argentinians and to the foot of Weghorst, who scored for the second time since entering as a substitute in the 78th minute. That tied the game at 2.

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  35. Now we've got about five minutes left in extra time, and Argentina is trying to win before having to face penalty kicks. In the 111th minute, Argentina brought in Angel di Maria, an attacking midfielder who plays for Juventus in the Italian League, to replace Lisandro Martinez. Since then, Argentina has had the Dutch goal under siege, but has been unable to break through.

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  36. Noa Lang, a winger for Club Brugge in the Belgian League, enters the game for Netherlands in the 113th minute. He replaces Cody Gakpo.

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  37. Both teams going end to end now, with the goalkeepers making saves at both ends. Amazing stuff, as neither team is settling for PK's.

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  38. In the 119th minute, Messi gets a tiny amount of space, but his shot is deflected out for a corner.

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  39. If it were up to me, the winner of any game that is tied after extra time would be the team with the most corner kicks. Because of their extended assault on the Dutch goal, the Argentinians now have 6 corner kicks to only 2 for the Dutch. But that won't matter, because we are headed for penalties.

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  40. So far, we have played 10 knockout games in this World Cup. This is the fourth one to go to penalty kicks, including both of today's quarter-finals.

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  41. Argentina finished with 8 corner kicks, to 2 for the Netherlands. But we're still going to PK's.

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    1. I would like to hear more of the logic behind your corner-kicks tiebreaker.

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  42. For the game, the Dutch only had two shots on target. But they both went in.

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  43. The Dutch will go first. Virgil van Dijk whacks the ball, but his penalty is SAVED by Martinez. Messi then goes for Argentina. The goalkeeper leaps to his left, but Messi just taps it down the middle for an easy score. 1-0 for Argentina.

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  44. Next up is Berghuis, but Martinez makes a spectacular SAVE to his left. Fantastic stuff from the Argentine keeper. Then Paredes scores into the left-hand corner. 2-0 for Argentina.

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  45. In the next round, Koopmeiners and Montiel both score. 3-1 for Argentina.

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  46. In the next round, Weghorst scores. Now Enzo Fernandez can win it for Argentina, but he pulls his shot wide to the left! 3-2 for Argentina with one round left.

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  47. In the last round, Luuk de Jong scores for the Netherlands to make it 3-3. Now it's all down to Lautaro Martinez, who started this game on the bench, and who didn't come into the game until the 82d minute.

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  48. It's always good to have a striker take penalties. Martinez sends the keeper the wrong way, and scores to win the game for Argentina!

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  49. Heartbreak for the Dutch, who were eliminated by Argentina in the 2014 semi-final. That game was 0-0 after full time, and Argentina won 4-2 on penalty kicks. This time, the Dutch appeared to be dead, but fought back to force extra time, and penalty kicks, only to lose 4-3. A legendary win for Argentina, who will face Croatia in the semi-finals.

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  50. This was a lot of fun to read, even though I knew who had won. Thank you for doing it.

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