The
second semifinal between the two heavyweight teams ended scoreless in
the regulation 90 minutes and 30 minutes of extra time and its result
had to be decided via penalty shootout.
Captain Lionel Messi, Ezequiel Garay, Sergio Aguero and Maxi Rodriguez
scored for Argentina while only Arjen Robben and Dirk Kuyt could found
the target for the Netherlands.
Romero turned out to be the hero for Argentina as he blocked shots from
Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder to take his side to the fifth World Cup
final.
Two-time champions Argentina now take on three-time winners Germany in
the summit clash at the iconic Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on
Sunday.
This will be Argentina's first World Cup final entry in 24 years after
1990 when they lost to Germany in the final under Diego Maradona.
In stark contrast to the goals galore in Germany's 7-1 humiliation of
Brazil in the first semifinal on Friday, today's match was more of a
battle of attrition with very few goal-scoring chances with both sides
trying to break down their opponents gradually.
The clash between the two heavyweights was though not without some tense
and gripping spells with some fine build-ups but none of the two sides
either blinked or committed mistakes to give the other team a chance.
The Dutch were able to keep Argentine captain Messi quiet for most part
of the match with Ron Vlaar doing a great job by denying the four-time
World Player of the Year free space, stopping him with fine tackles on a
couple of occasions.
Messi's opposite number in the Dutch team, Robin van Persie, who made it
to the starting line-up after recovering from a stomach problem just in
time for the match, had a forgettable outing though he played the full
90 minutes before being substituted six minutes into the extra time.
Rodrigo Palacio had a glorious chance to score for Argentina five
minutes before the end of extra time but he headed into the hands of
Dutch goalie Jasper Cillessen who was at his mercy.
The first half was a cagey and tense affair with both sides unable to
create clear chances, the closest either team came to breaking the
deadlock was Messi's free kick in the 20th minute that Cillessen dived
to his right to comfortably save.
Argentina came close to scoring in the 75th minute when an Enzo Perez
delicious through ball was toe-poked towards the goal by Gonzalo Higuain
only to hit the side nettings.
The Netherlands pressed hard and laid sieze of Argentina citadel towards
the close of regulation time and Arjen Robben was sent clean through
inside Argentine penalty area by Wesley Sneijder in the 90th minute but
Javier Mascherano made a remarkable recovery to deflect the Dutch
winger's shot.
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