 "FIFA World Cup: Thrilling chaos and Messi moment of magic lifts Qatar 2022 to prodigious level")
Despite all the allegations of human rights abuse against Qatar and accusations of corruption against FIFA, the World Cup hosting rights went to an Arab nation. The audacity of the decision-makers could only be explained by their belief in the hypnotic power of football. FIFA World Cup: Fixtures | Results | Points Table | Squads | Records It would captivate you and the ills would be forgotten. And to their credit, the assessment was spot on. In all honesty, they deserve few brownie points for making the immortal guess in this mortal world. Football transcends barriers, cultures, predictions and statistics. It can be unpredictable, chaotic and yet so beautiful and thrilling. On Friday night at the Lusail Stadium, it was everything. There was disruption, commotion, wizardry, agony and ecstasy. For a World Cup, that has already been seen by many as the best-ever with Asian , African and Arab teams making their mark , it had to be the greatest cliff-hanger of its kind to lift the tournament to the next prodigious level.Messi’s moment of magic The prospects of the Brazil-Argentina semi-final were over early on Friday night as Croatia steamed forward with their hard-nosed approach . It also somewhere seemed like a bad omen for Lionel Messi’s World Cup dreams. An industrious and pragmatic Netherlands side is any day a bigger challenge than an expressive opposition. And so often the big games are won on those qualities. Argentina, however, had both nerves and finesse. After a circumspect start to the match, the game burst into life in the 35th minute. Something extraordinary was needed to break away from the mundane in the high-stakes game and Messi became the conductor of that inspiration. With the ball at his feet, Messi, as always, spotted the space between innumerable bodies that we can’t. Messi got the ball 40 yards away from the post. There were six defenders between him and the target. Every possibility of a goal-scoring pass was non-existent, till Messi defied logic to stitch through an inch-perfect no-look pass to Nahuel Molina who expertly put it back in the net. After years of mesmerising us, the Argentine great still has a lot more surprises left to offer.
#Messi's slick assist 🤝 Nahuel Molina's sharp finish 🔥#Netherlands trail for the first time in #Qatar2022 🥶
— JioHotstar Reality (@HotstarReality) December 9, 2022
Which way is #NEDARG heading? - Find out on #JioCinema & #Sports18 📱📺
Presented by @Mahindra_Auto
#FIFAWorldCup #FIFAWConJioCinema #FIFAWConSports18 pic.twitter.com/tWy0L1fW7u
Messi would then go on to double the lead in the 73rd minute with a spot kick. With it, he matched Gabriel Batistuta’s record of 10 World Cup goals for Argentina. Four of them have come in Qatar along with two assists. Van Gaal strikes back [caption id=“attachment_11783961” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Louis van Gaal witnessed his Netherlands side stage a remarkable turnaround before losing on penalties to Argentina at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. AP[/caption] Game over it seemed. Game over for coach Louis van Gaal it seemed. The Dutch tactician, who is expected to retire from coaching, has won everyone over with his charm at this World Cup but has also lost a lot of fans because of his stubborn footballing philosophy that is not in sync with Netherlands’ “total football” culture. Nevertheless, Van Gaal has earned success and failure on his own terms and he stuck with them on the night. The approach changed as the Netherlands threw tall strikers Wout Weghorst and Luuk De Jong into the mix. Another tall man, Virgil van Dijk, went up the pitch. The Dutch who sat back and played passes within themselves for a large part started launching long balls and it worked. Weghorst haded in a cross from the right in the 78th minute. In the 121st, the last minute of extra time, Netherlands found the equaliser. Teun Koopmeiners play-acted a shot at the goal from a free kick but instead found Weghorst with a low pass as the striker held off his marker to make it 2-2.
🥶🥶🥶
— JioHotstar Reality (@HotstarReality) December 9, 2022
The audacity to attempt this set-piece when your nation is on the verge of being knocked out of the #FIFAWorldCup 😳
🎥 the blockbuster action, LIVE on #JioCinema & #Sports18 📲📺#NEDARG #Qatar2022 #FIFAWConJioCinema #FIFAWConSports18 pic.twitter.com/9rjYdignY0
Chaos and more chaos Just as goals were scored, tempers started to flare. The Lusail Stadium which was witnessing a thrilling game also became an arena for brawls and battering. Referee Mateu Lahoz had a poor game as he failed to control the proceedings and had to dish out 16 yellow cards — a record for a World Cup match. In the 88th minute, Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes kicked a loose ball into the Dutch dugout leading to a melee followed by another one at the end of the regular time. More drama was to come after the match, as Netherlands defender Denzel Dumfries was sent off for confronting an Argentina support staff.
Virgil van Dijk knocks Leandro Paredes to the floor after the Argentina midfielder kicked the ball at the Netherlands bench. Great photo by Matthias Hangst. pic.twitter.com/7bHRMoe1FK
— James Nalton (@JDNalton) December 9, 2022
Messi to the ref after the match:
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 9, 2022
“What are you looking at? Carry on, fool"
pic.twitter.com/8Ndjvi9voR
Messi was seen having an animated conversation during a post-match interview. But amid all this, there was also a sensational penalty shootout where Argentina sealed the deal with a 4-3 win. Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez saved the attempts from Van Dijk and Steven Berghuis and that proved to be enough as Argentina triumphed despite Enzo Fernandez missing his kick. Messi’s World Cup dreams live on. Argentina march ahead to the semi-final against Croatia on 14 December after another emotionally exhaustive win. The question is how long can they keep doing this. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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