Louis van Gaal revealed he was conscious of taunts aimed toward him by Argentina gamers after they eradicated the Netherlands in Friday’s penalty shootout.
WHAT HAPPENED? Tensions ran excessive in an action-packed quarter-final that noticed Argentina’s Leandro Paredes boot a ball on the Dutch bench earlier than being bodied by Oranje captain Virgil van Dijk. Albiceleste goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez turned out to the hero as he saved two of the Netherlands’ spot-kicks, though head coach Van Gaal revealed that he was effectively conscious of what the Aston Villa shot stopper was saying about him after the match.
WHAT THEY SAID:  “I converse a bit Spanish, after the sport the goalkeeper of Argentina informed me that I spoke an excessive amount of,” the veteran tactician informed reporters after the full-time whistle. Certainly, Martinez himself informed the media: “I heard Van Gaal saying, ‘We’ve obtained a bonus in penalties. If we go to penalties we win.’ I believe he must maintain his mouth shut.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Martinez’s feedback mirror how rivalries on the pitch spilled into post-match sentiment, after footage emerged of Lionel Messi calling Dutch goalscorer Wout Weghorst a “idiot” in entrance of reporters. Van Gaal, in the meantime, revealed that Friday evening’s fiery affair could be his final accountable for the Dutch nationwide workforce, as he introduced his retirement from administration in defiant style.
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DID YOU KNOW? The quarter-final between the Netherlands and Argentina was the 2 sides’ sixth assembly in World Cup historical past. There has solely been two matches performed extra usually within the competitors’s historical past: Brazil vs Sweden and Argentina vs Germany (each seven instances).
WHAT NEXT? Whereas the Netherlands search for a brand new supervisor to take them by way of European qualifiers, Argentina have a semi-final date with Croatia on Tuesday, after their historic victory over Brazil earlier on Friday.
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