In the match of the 1/4 finals of the World Cup, the teams of the Netherlands and Argentina will meet. Will Messi be able to continue his campaign for the first title at the World Cup? We'll figure it out.
Netherlands
The Netherlands took the first place in their group. In the first game, the Dutch were stronger than the Senegal national team (2:0), in the second match, Louis Van Gaal's wards parted in peace with the Ecuador national team (1:1), and then defeated Qatar (2:0).
In the first round of the playoffs, the Orange easily passed the U.S. national team, beating them 3-1.
One of the main forces in the attack is PSV forward Kodi Gakpo, who hit the opponent's goal three times.
The Dutch have reached the 1/8 finals of the World Cup on five of the last six occasions, including winning the last three games of the first round of the playoffs. It is also worth noting that they have not lost in the last 11 matches at the World Cup (in regular time).
Argentina
Argentina took first place in its group. However, the tournament for Lionel Scaloni's wards began with a sensational defeat by the Saudi Arabian national team (1:2), and then two victories were won over the national teams of Mexico and Poland with the same score 2:0.
In the match of the 1/8 finals, the South American team was stronger than the Australian team (2:1), although the opponents had great chances to transfer the match to extra time.
The main force in attack for Argentina is PSG forward Lionel Messi, who scored three goals. He came in second place among the scorers for his national team in the history of the World Cups. Now he has nine goals, only Gabriel Batistuta (10) has more.
Statistics and figures
- Argentina is the favorite of the match according to bookmakers;
- The Netherlands scored eight goals in this tournament;
- The Netherlands has not lost at the World Cups for 11 meetings;
- The teams have met each other seven times, five of them at the World Championships. Only in 2014, the Argentines won on penalties, in the rest of the meetings there were draws or victories of the European team.
Forecast
I believe that the Netherlands will not leave the field without scoring a goal, because the main disadvantage of the Argentine national team is playing defense, and I also do not rule out the possibility that the Netherlands' series without defeats at the World Championships will continue.