Vamos Messi! Netherlands next after they expose the naivety of the USA
World Cup Diaries: Day 14
World Cup Diaries: Day 14
Act One — A personal triumph for Denzel Dumfries
NETHERLANDS 3 (Depay 10, Blind 45+1, Dumfries 81)
USA 1 (Wright 76)
Today’s first game and indeed the first game of the round of 16 was a strange one in spite of the score line and it wasn’t so much a contest of differing styles as differing outcomes, as well as a heap of naivety from the USA. Arguably they were the better team for large swathes of this game despite being 2–0 down at half-time in a game they’d been the most attacking and purposeful and progressive. Alas, they were criminally negligent and naïve for the second and third goals and whilst they went 1–0 behind to an incredible 21 pass team goal from a patient Netherlands sweeping the ball from defence through midfield and collectively into the path of Memphis Depay for a 10th minute lead, they were a yard off all across the field as the team in the beautiful all orange played through them with barely a challenge. Tonight’s undoubted “Man of the Match” Denzel Dumfries supplied an assist for his team’s brilliant opening goal and then a virtually identical copy of a pass to Danny Blind for the game’s killer goal inside first half injury time. He’d cap a fantastic individual performance with the game’s true killer goal with 9 minutes remaining but as with the free space afforded Danny Blind for his injury time goal in the first half, so Dumfries had all the space in Qatar in which to side foot his volley on 81 minutes past a helpless Matt Turner to seal a 3–1 victory and a place in Friday’s quarter-final.
This was tough on an American team who largely dominated a first half with their zestful endeavour, but they lacked quality in the final, important third of the field whilst also shooting themselves in the foot defensively. Where the Netherlands were clinical, the USA were wasteful, certainly in a second half where they continued to press for a goal or a spark to build some momentum. Largely they were restricted to long range drives, mainly from their talismanic striker Christian Pulisic and whilst their goalkeeper Matt Turner produced a wonderful double save to deny Memphis Depay his second and his team’s third goal, the Americans forced goal line clearances from Cody Gakpo of all people on 49 minutes and Denzel Dumfries (yes him again!) just a minute before they finally scored a goal their performance merited from substitute Haji Wright. Pulisic again tried from long range a couple of minutes later as the USA had the momentum they craved but just two minutes later saw them gift the freedom of their penalty area to an unmarked Denzel Dumfries, and the game was over.
I’m a little torn as to how to feel about this Dutch team. Gakpo is an incredible talent, their defensive back three are commanded by Liverpool’s very own colossus Virgil van Dijk and I believe Davy Klaassen to be that niggly player every team needs, especially those who play beautiful football along the green grass and amongst the ghosts of their footballing heritage. I think their style will defeat Argentina, especially if, like this evening, they get an early goal. They were awkwardly out of a game that didn’t take an awful amount of energy out of them and they clinically won 3–1 without playing that well.
Some would argue that’s a sure sign of a winning team at a World Cup.
Act Two — “We give the ball to Messi!”
ARGENTINA 2 (Messi 35, Alvarez 57)
AUSTRALIA 1 (Fernandez (own goal) 77
As regular readers (thanks David!) of my footballing articles know only too well, I couldn’t lose with this one. I have a 40 year affinity with the Argentina national team that often defies logic and I’ve a sporting love/hate relationship with Australia due only to my passionate love of Test Match cricket, but I’ve taken the “Socceroos” to my heart during this World Cup so I was winning regardless of whether the blue and white stripes of Argentina or the golden yellow and green of Australia did. The Australian goalkeeper Matthew Ryan made a horrendous error on 57 minutes to gift a second and ultimately decisive goal to Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez, Harry Souttar and Aaron Mooy were immense at the heart of a tigerish Aussie performance, Alexis Mac Allister and Rodrigo De Paul equally outstanding in the centre of midfield and had it not been for a smart smothering save in the last minute from Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez from 18 year old Aussie substitute Garang Kuol, a very disappointing and utterly one sided game could have gone into extra-time at 2–2.
But Argentina are through and as it was Lionel Messi’s 100th match as captain of his nation and mind bendingly his 1,000th match all time, I simply had to keep a rather sharp eye on the little genius and yet again, he was at the core of another vital, grinding, unflamboyant victory for “La Albiceleste”. I’ll state briefly again: Argentina need that snarky air of ultra competitiveness to play as a stubborn, difficult team to beat. When Messi plays well let alone majestically, they have 12 men. With Messi out of the game they have 10 and so they have fight tooth and nail for each other. So it’s not always pretty and then occasionally it’s otherworldly.
Messi was unceremoniously dumped off the ball (with a little tickle in the ribs too) by Keanu Baccus early on and to use the old fashioned vernacular he “left one on him”, a reminder he was in a physical game if you will. The game itself was turgid and utterly forgettable until around the 33rd minute when Messi got himself embroiled in a silly altercation for the ball outside of play and he won a free-kick he took that led to a corner that ultimately led to the game’s first goal. As Australia repelled the initial corner the ball was cycled back to the little magician who quickly fizzed a pass to the outstanding Alexis Mac Allister and his instant return inside the penalty area was initially (mis)controlled by Nicolas Otamendi but perfectly into the stride of Messi who took a touch to control before sliding a left footed drive past the outstretched dive of Matthew Ryan and into the corner of his net.
1–0 up at half-time, ex Argentina international Pablo Zabaleta announced with a smile the simple mantra he and his teammates had when playing with Lionel Messi and in the second half his contemporary teammates did just that: they gave the ball to Messi. For fifteen minutes as Argentina reorganised following Australia’s growing presence in the game, Messi barely the touched the ball but like a rapier he twice danced through the heart of the Australian midfield in two second half minutes and as the Aussies tired, his slow methodical touches and retention of the ball drained their rivals from down under. He was physical too in the second half if more than a little tired by the close of the game, but he’s led his nation to the quarter-finals of the World Cup once more and although I fear the Netherlands will have too much nous for them around their intimidating physicality on Friday night, tonight the drums and songs of their incredible fans are full of victory once more, and here’s hoping they’re still singing as Friday night becomes another Saturday morning, and the blue and whites, and Lionel Messi, are still in the World Cup.
Thanks for reading. In addition to the delights that can be found within the cave of wonders that is my archives, I’m penning a day to day diary of the World Cup, and here are days 11 through 13:
The Indomitable Lions and a World Cup win for the ages
World Cup Diaries: Day 13.medium.com
Belgium and Germany depart on yet another day of VAR inspired madness
World Cup Diaries: Day 12.medium.com
Magnificent Mac Allister steers Argentina into the Last 16
World Cup Diaries: Day 11medium.com