Van Gaal and Weghorst agreed and flew off.

The Argentinians were insulted before the match

Like all bullies and provocateurs, Argentines see only injustice in their speech. But so was she. Fernandez and Lautaro were chased by the Dutch before the kicks which is against the regulation. Otamendi isn’t lying: they defiantly celebrated victory in response. It is not clear what the stubborn van Gaal was counting on when he provoked the Argentines, because they have a reputation for hooliganism.

Emiliano Martinez will intimidate anyone. Van Gaal vainly stated before the game that the Netherlands would lead in the series. And Messi explained why he called the author of Weghorst’s saving brace a fool. Before the duel, Wut approached his opponents, jostled and verbally abused. It is clear that this behavior of the big man is connected to van Gaal’s strategy, he dreamed of infuriating his opponent before entering the field.

At HQ with Davids and the elder Blind, have they decided that since Argentines are shorter, they are silenced? Strange behavior, even if the Argentines shouldn’t have responded. There are enough dirty guys in the Scaloni team, but since the team passed the psychological mark with the name of “perpetual losers” a year ago in the America’s Cup final, Van Gaal’s strategy has predictably backfired, losing to “little ones”.

It’s like with Colombia and England world Cup-2018. All the tricks of Barrios and the company did not work, but Martinez’s skill in the series saved Argentina. Van Dijk, although he is the leader of the Netherlands, doesn’t have much experience in penalty shoot-outs, he missed. Van Gaal failed to release Krul like he once did, and his new first number in the tournament is clearly not Handanovic when it came to penalties.

Messi responded to provocations by celebrating in a special way in front of Van Gaal in the style of Riquelme. Lionel was angry, because before the match van Gaal said that Messi was easy to close by cutting the passing lines. Argentina adapted to the Netherlands, moved to the central three. The Europeans, on the other hand, promised good football, but offered tall players and “cut out” the midfield in the name of an advantage in physics.

Some of it worked, some of it didn’t. Holland has not failed when working personally with Messi. Lionel has only one accurate shot from the field in the hands of the goalkeeper and one from the penalty spot. But Lionel’s great assist is enough not to give Louis the victory, who together with the inept referee Mateu Laos is at the origin of the dirty things on the pitch. Dumfries was never going to scare the Argentines without an order.

Messi has become the Maradona of the new century

A huge difference from the recent past: Argentina accepted Messi. Previously, cutting comments were allowed that it might have been better if the shorty ran for Spain, but now they don’t. Lionel is amazingly gifted, he has long broken almost all of Diego’s records. And in some cases they cannot be compared, because it will result in disrespect for Maradona. Diego has rarely been a champion in a solid league, and Messi has often been.

Maradona could not take the Ballon d’Or, the prize was awarded only to Europeans. Messi has a collection of awards. Maradona was a child of the second half of the 20th century: a rock and roll icon, a drug addict and a womanizer. Messi has a woman, incredibly jealous and overbearing. Lionel is a more attentive father than Diego was. On Messi’s boots there are the names of his children and his wife, on Diego’s boots there are traces of white powder.

Messi is the ideal footballer of the early 21st century. I didn’t drag Valencia to the league, I played for Barcelona right away. He didn’t participate in massive hard fights on the field like Diego. Messi doesn’t name names Fifa mafia. Yesterday he noted that Mateu Laos has “tilted the field”, but added that he will not evaluate the judge, because he would be punished for the truth. Messi is more boring in life, but much more stable on the pitch.

Captain La Scaleneta now has 70 hits world Cup. He broke Maradona’s record: 69 passes. We note right away that Diego has fewer matches, but his Argentina was higher in the hierarchy of the national team than Messi’s team. Passing shows that both great players were not selfish on the pitch. Ronaldo is not an attacking midfielder, but the striker Messi chases the “ten” Maradona – 7 assists against 8 for Diego.

With the Croatians you need goals without nerves

Better in regular time than matches. Brazil was afraid of Modric, Brozovic and Petkovic no matter what they say now. Dalić’s team was more calm, even though he was taking shots at Livakovic’s face throughout the game. But after the match, Dominic is happy and the tearful Brazilians go home. Messi understands the danger of getting bogged down in the match with Croatia, but Scaloni has definitely prepared for all possible opponents.

The mentor is young, so he couldn’t stop his team yesterday, even though he should have. But the thoughts are fresh. His Argentina met Croatia, a team that feeds on the emotions of others, especially negative ones. The slightest anxiety, like Russian players in a penalty kick – the “chess” goalkeeper will detect. Subasic gets away with it, Livakovic doesn’t fail. Scaloni has the experience of the Japanese and Brazilians to play differently.

But it is impossible to unequivocally call Argentina the favorite against Croatia. After all, Modric’s team is Messi’s toughest opponent in the tournament. Brozovic, Kovacic and Modric are world-class midfielders who will keep an eye on Lionel from the back of the pitch. In terms of individual skills, there are few questions for Argentina. Yesterday they could have closed the game with a victory in regular time, but if they conceded a goal, they are more worried about the semi-finals.

Messi must make the difference again. Meanwhile, he is held hostage by public narrow-mindedness. If Maradona quarreled, then everyone would say: well, this is Diego, that’s it. And when Lionel reacts aggressively and with arguments, then the court fifa will make a decision. Infantino is not an enemy of himself and of the sheikhs, we will hardly see disqualifications, but the Argentine Scaloni certainly has strong nerves and drive.

Both good and bad. The team is not without sin, let us recall the defeat to the Saudis, the weak segment of the match with Australia and the final with a losing victory over the Netherlands. Breakthrough in the final. And better for Messi is an analogue of the difficult path of 1986, and not 1990, when there was no reception against the German scrap. The semi-final will be Messi’s record 25th match world Cupis the same as Matthäus.

Lionel enters the court with the knowledge that happiness is near, like the end of his journey to the World Cup. It’s incredibly interesting to watch him in Qatar, because it’s important that the player becomes Maradona, the leader who will carry the title, while remaining himself.