Argentina beat the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar on penalties on Friday night.
It was a close match, although the Argentines seemed to have it under control when they were 2-0 up with less than 10 minutes to go.
But a late show from the Netherlands to end normal time in a 2-2 draw sent the match to extra time and then to a penalty shootout.
It was a quarter-final overflowing with emotions and Lionel Messi, a player who usually tries to stay out of the fuss and focus on the pitch, turned into Maradona on Friday.
Messi vs Van Gaal
A war of words had preceded the game, as Louis van Gaal had said he felt his team would have an advantage if the game went to penalties, comments that didn’t sit well with Messi and co.
“I feel disrespected by Van Gaal after his pre-game comments and some Dutch players spoke too much during the game,” Messi told the press.
“Van Gaal sells that he plays good football and then he puts forwards in the box and starts throwing long balls.
“We deserved to go through and that’s what happened.”
Messi criticises Mateu Lahoz
The Argentina captain also criticised the performance of referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz.
“I don’t want to talk about referees because then they will sanction you, but we were scared before the game because we knew what was coming [with Mateu Lahoz],” Messi said.
“I can’t say what I think, but FIFA have to look at this.
“[FIFA] cannot put a referee like that on this game when he is not up to the level.”
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