"Argentina Merch On," said the commentator as Lautaro Martinez scored the final shootout of the FIFA World Cup 2022 semi-final between Argentina and Netherlands.
Nahuel Molina started the proceedings for Argentina as he scored in the 35th minute of the match in which was touted to be toughest match for them in FIFA World Cup 2022. The youngster did not miss his chance to jump on Messi's lap after scoring that electryfying goal. Lionel Messi then scored from the spot in the 73rd minute to give Argentina a 2-0 lead.
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Things were looking all easy for Lionel Scaloni's men until Wout Weghorst came in as a substitute for the Netherlands team. He came and just massacred the hearts of Argentine fans with two goals in 83rd and 90+11 minute of the match to take the game into the extra time.
The game was tied at 2-2 after full 120 minutes when an epic penalty shootout took place at Lusail Stadium in Qatar. Netherlands defender and captain Virgil van Dijk missed the first shot to give Argentina the advantage. Emiliano Martinez with a great save, jumping to his left. Lionel Messi, the captain of the Argentina team then stepped up to take the first shot of the shootout for his team and he scored. 0-1 for Argentina after first shot.
Steven Berghuis missed the second shot for the Dutch team to provide Leandro Paredes an opportunity to give Argentina a 0-2 lead. Emiliano Martinez again with a great save. This time, jumping to his left.
Teun Koopmeiners converted from the spot for the Netherlands for the first time to give them some hope. However, Gonzalo Montiel made sure that his team keep the gap alive to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2022 semi-finals.
Things got a bit tensed for Lionel Scaloni's men as Enzo Fernández missed the fourth shot for them after Wout Weghorst scored for the Dutch team to make it 3-2 after four shots each.
However, with a deficit of one goal already, Argentina just had to make sure they scored in the last shot after Luke de Jong scored from Netherlands last shot. Lautaro MartÃnez's clinical penalty then made sure that Argentina were the one going to the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2022 which they eventually went on to win.
Watch: Lionel Scaloni's reaction as Argentina qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2022 semi-finals
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