LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — Lionel Messi began the match by delivering one other soccer clinic. The Argentina celebrity ended it sporting a bloodied high lip, shouting abuse to opponents and even blasting the referee.And naturally there have been targets, too, for one of many greats of the sport whose bid to win the World Cup for the primary time continues to be on monitor.Messi is heading to the semifinals with Argentina after a chaotic penalty-shootout victory over Netherlands that had nearly the whole lot on Friday.Argentina took a 2-0 lead, conceded an equalizer within the eleventh minute of second-half stoppage time to ship the match to additional time at 2-2, after which received the shootout 4-3 amid a deafening noise inside Lusail Stadium.Messi, who scored a penalty in regulation time, transformed his penalty within the shootout whereas goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez made two saves to assist Argentina safe a semifinal match towards Croatia, which beat Brazil earlier Friday.After Lautaro Martinez scored the clinching penalty, Messi — together with his arms outstretched — sprinted towards the goalkeeper, who had fallen to the bottom to the facet of the purpose, and lay on high of him.“We needed to endure,” Messi mentioned, “however we bought via.”Messi did, particularly, in an usually violent match that featured 17 yellow playing cards — a file for a World Cup match — two of which went to Netherlands defender Denzel Dumfries, resulting in him getting despatched off after the sport.Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni referred to as the sport “ugly” and Messi was vital of the Spanish referee, Antonio Mateu, saying: “I don’t assume he was as much as the usual. He was very dangerous for us.”In a facet of Messi not often seen, he additionally broke off from his post-match interview on the sphere to shout abuse on the scorer of the Netherlands’ two targets, Wout Weghorst.“What are you taking a look at, silly?” Messi was heard saying.Messi and his teammates hung round on the sphere for 20 minutes on the finish, taking turns dancing and leaping up and down in entrance of Argentina’s celebrating, scarf-waving followers.Messi mentioned the late Diego Maradona was wanting over the group.“Diego is watching us from heaven,” Messi mentioned of the previous Argentina captain and coach who died two years in the past. “He’s pushing us. I hope it stays like that till the tip.”It is just the second time Argentina has reached the final 4 since 1990. In 2014, Messi was a part of the group that misplaced to Germany within the remaining and he seems within the temper to get there once more in a match that he’s turning into his personal private spotlight reel.Messi delivered a mesmerizing piece of talent and imaginative and prescient to arrange the opening purpose for Nahuel Molina within the thirty fifth minute. He twisted free in central midfield and burst ahead, unbalancing Netherlands defender Nathan Ake after which delivering a no-look reverse cross for Molina to complete for his first worldwide purpose.His penalty within the 73rd minute, which got here after Marcus Acuna was tripped by Dumfries, was his fourth purpose of the match and took him to 10 total within the World Cup — tied with Gabriel Batistuta for probably the most for Argentina. Messi now has 94 targets in his 169 worldwide video games.His group trailing 2-0, Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal despatched on two tall strikers — Weghorst and Luuk De Jong — and even informed middle again Virgil van Dijk to play up entrance. The sport immediately modified.Weghorst glanced in a header from a right-wing cross within the 78th — 5 minutes after approaching — after which scored the newest second-half purpose in a knockout-stage sport at a World Cup.Off a cleverly labored free-kick routine realized by Weghorst at his Turkish membership, Besiktas, Teun Koopmeiners feigned to take a shot at purpose from the sting of the world however as a substitute performed it brief and low into the center of the world. It deceived the Argentine protection as Weghorst took a contact, held off his marker and slotted dwelling a end on the stretch.Enzo Fernandez hit the put up close to the tip of additional time and was then the one Argentina participant to fail to attain within the shootout. Martinez’s saves have been from makes an attempt by Van Dijk and Steven Berghuis, after which he pulled his shorts excessive and danced a jig.The loss ended the 71-year-old Van Gaal’s third stint answerable for the Netherlands. He was additionally the group’s coach on the World Cup in 2014 when Argentina beat the Dutch in a penalty shootout within the semifinals.“Ever since we arrived right here,” Van Gaal mentioned, “we’ve been targeted on penalties. We thought we have been going to win the penalty shootout.”SUSPENSIONSArgentina defenders Marcus Acuna and Gonzalo Montiel will miss the semifinals after amassing second yellow playing cards of the tournament___Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80___
Messi, Argentina advance to semifinals at World Cup
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