A man-marking brief won’t be employed against Lionel Messi when Croatia meet Argentina for a spot in the World Cup final.
Sure,the image of Argentina’s players celebrating in front of the distraught Dutch side was unedifying. But it pays to dig a little deeper before passing judgment.
Follow along for all the major moments and reactions as Argentina takes on The Netherlands for a place in the world cup semi finals.
Argentina have knocked out the Netherlands in a penalty shootout to set up a semi-final against Croatia,who also beat Brazil on penalties on a dramatic day of action.
Virgil van Dijk is refusing to focus on one man as the Netherlands eye going one step closer to breaking their World Cup duck when they face Argentina in the last eight.
In his 1000th professional game,the Argentine scored his first goal in a World Cup knockout match. This is how he made the goal which broke Socceroos’ hearts.
Socceroos young gun Garang Kuol became the youngest player since Pele to feature in the World Cup’s knockout stage - and,very nearly,the youngest to score since him in 1958.
Despite the Socceroos’ narrow loss,crowds turned out in force to Tumbalong Park in Darling Harbour – and gave an emphatic thumbs up for the location.
The giant-killing run of Australia at the World Cup ended at the feet of Lionel Messi and Argentina. But they earned the respect of many in the world’s media.
Argentina will advance to the quarterfinals but the Socceroos can hold their heads high despite a 2-1 loss to Argentina on Sunday morning.
Maty Ryan’s teammates have rallied around him after an uncharacteristic mistake was punished against Argentina. But one of his rivals at FC Copenhagen took a graceless stab at him on social media.