Hours after Brazil were eliminated from the 2022 World Cup, South American rivals Argentina defied their mistakes and advanced to the semi-finals.
There were three players who impressed in Argentina’s win over the Netherlands and two who were disappointed.
Good performance: Paredes
Paredes came on in the 66th minute as a substitute for De Paulo, with the Paris Saint-Germain player adding a bit of energy to the midfield. This is 2023/1/11 – keywords (111), URL (20). Paredes fought for every ball, steadied his ground, helped the defenders to attack and scored a superb penalty under pressure in the shootout.
Paredes made key passes in a hotly contested quarterfinal, winning six tackles, two high-flying contests and attempting three tackles.
Underperforming: Alvarez
Manchester City striker Alvarez failed to maintain his form against Holland, struggling to keep in touch with his team-mates and losing possession under pressure. Having failed to impress Scaroni, he was tempted by Martinez in the 82nd minute.
Alvarez completed just 12 passes (70.6 percent accuracy), lost three of his four scrambles, lost possession 10 times and was caught offside once.
Good performance: Emiliano Martinez
Emiliano Martinez was Argentina’s penalty shootout hero, saving two penalties. Holland captain van Dijk was the first to be denied by Martinez, who guessed right foot and blocked the shot with a powerful right hand. Martinez completed 132 passes and made two long, accurate throws during the game.
Underperforming: Pezzella
Argentina substitute Pezella had a horrendous game, committing a silly foul on Holland in a dangerous area in the final minutes of stoppage time. Welhurst scored from the free kick to send the game to extra time.
Pezella also lost all five high-altitude duels, missed two long balls, lost possession three times and failed to make any defensive moves.
Good performance: Lionel Messi
Argentine youngster Messi, who was the team’s best performer on Friday night with a goal and an assist, took the ball down the middle in the 35th minute and showed incredible awareness and skill to pass it to Molina on the right.
The right-back did well to get on the end of a cut-and-cut pass from Messi, who also gave away two penalties against Holland, to tap in. Then, in the penalty shootout, he kicked the ball into the middle of the Dutch goal to give his team the perfect start.
Messi also made three key passes, completed two dribbles, earned 10 tackles and was fouled eight times.