- Netherlands and Argentina met in one of the most exciting matches of the World Cup so far.
- Trailing 2-1 in the final moments of stoppage time, Netherlands scored an astounding goal off a designed free kick.
The Netherlands met Argentina on Friday in what turned out to be the most enthralling match of the World Cup thus far.
Argentina jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first half thanks to a brilliant assist from Lionel Messi, who also scored a second half penalty kick to put his country up 2-0 in the 73rd minute.
It looked as if Argentina would be through to the semifinals with ease, but Netherlands punched back, with substitute Wout Weghorst sending a header into the back of the net in the 83rd minute to steal a goal back for the Dutch.
As regular time ticked away, 10 minutes of stoppage time were announced, and the Netherlands would need every single one of them.
When the clock ticked into the 100th minute, Netherlands earned a free kick just outside the box, setting up what would be their last, best chance to tie the match.
Netherlands set up to go for goal, with Teun Koopmeiners and Cody Gakpo lining up behind the ball, facing down an Argentinian wall.
Getting up and over the wall seemed like the best bet for a goal, but instead, Netherlands went around, with Koopmeiners sneaking a delicate pass just past the wall to Weghorst, who turned and finished for his second goal, leaving Argentina stunned.
The goal was straight off of the practice field, clearly a rehearsed bit of trickeration that the Dutch were waiting to unveil.
It worked, but it was still a stunning bit of courage to pull that type of stunt in that moment. Had the initial pass failed to make it to Weghorst, it would have meant the Netherlands wasted a perfect chance to go for goal in favor of a cheeky little play.
But it worked.
Eagle-eyed fans following the match on Twitter quickly recognized that the play felt familiar.
As it turns out, Netherlands had pulled the play that scored their equalizing goal against Argentina from — wait for it — Argentina.
Back at the 1998 World Cup, the Albicelestes used an extremely similar set piece to set up Javier Zanetti for a game-tying goal against England in the Round of 16.
Twenty-four years later, the Netherlands used a variation on the Zanetti free kick to steal a goal back from Argentina. Soccer fans around the world applauded the effort.
Weghorst's second goal sent the match to extra time, but with neither team able to find a third, the Netherlands and Argentina were bound for penalty kicks.
Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk stepped up first, but was stopped by Argentinian keeper Emiliano Martínez.
Messi then stepped to the spot for Argentina, and put his shot away.
Argentina held serve the rest of the way, save for one miss, but was able to secure their spot in the semifinals on their fifth kick from the spot.
With the win, Argentina moves on to the semifinals, where they will face off against Croatia with a spot in the final on the line.
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