After a tense quarterfinal at Lusail Stadium, Argentina defeated the Netherlands on penalties to preserve Lionel Messi's World Cup dream. Ten minutes before halftime, Messi assisted Nahuel Molina in scoring the game's first goal. He then added the second goal from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute after Denzel Dumfries fouled Marcos Acuna. Messi appeared to have propelled Argentina into a matchup with Brazil's opponents Croatia in the round of eight.
Wout Weghorst, spearheaded a remarkable comeback by scoring twice in Louis van Gaal's final game as the Dutch coach, the second coming after an outrageous free-kick routine 11 minutes into stoppage time. Aston Villa's Argentine goalkeeper Emi Martinez emerged as the game's hero after saving from Steven Berghuis and Virgil van Dijk during penalties in a match that had numerous flashpoints, including 17 yellow cards and a red card for Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries at the conclusion.
Even though Argentina was under pressure after Enzo Fernandez's missed penalty kick, after Messi's conversion Lautaro Martinez's final crucial contribution led to raucous celebrations.