Argentina edged past the Netherlands in a classic World Cup quarter-final, prevailing 4-3 on penalties after a thrilling 2-2 draw after extra-time.
The deadlock was broken after 35 minutes, with Messi sliding a glorious pass into the path of the onrushing Nahuel Molina, who finished smartly.
The Albiceleste were then gifted a chance to double their lead when Denzel Dumfries tugged at Marcos Acuna, who went down.
Messi stepped up and hit the side netting of the right corner, with Andries Noppert frozen to the middle of his goal.
The Dutch rallied late though, with substitute Wout Weghorst’s header halving the deficit.
hen dramatically taking the game to extra-time with a 101st minute finish after quick-thinking from Teun Koopmeiners to slide him the ball from the free-kick on the edge of the box.
Lautaro Martinez scored the decisive spot kick, securing a semi-final against Croatia.
YangaBlog is the official Blog Site of YangaGames Technologies LTD.