Hello and welcome to Telegraph Sport live coverage of Holland v Argentina, the fifth meeting between these two nations at the World Cup finals.
Their first meeting was in the group stage in 1974 at the height of the Brilliant Orange, when Rinus Michels’ side won 4-0. Four years later, Argentina got their revenge on home soil, beating the Netherlands 3-1 in the final.
They did not meet again for 20 years when Dennis Bergkamp set up the quarter-final with a superb 90th-minute winner.
Daniel Passarella and Diego Maradona are the Argentine captains who have lifted the trophy, something Messi hopes to emulate as the pinnacle of a truly illustrious career. The Dutch are yet to win the tournament but have three runners-up finishes and two semi-finals since 1974.
Van Gaal’s decision to ditch the traditional Dutch attacking approach in favor of a counter-attacking strategy has put many of his countrymen’s reinforcements on the line, but he continues to insist he has the best tactics.
Asked how he planned to stop Lionel Messi, he said: “It would be quite stupid to reveal your own tactics.
“But it’s not that hard to come up with any answer. You could have come up with an answer yourself. You may want to block and close passing lines.’
In the last two World Cup meetings between Argentina and the Netherlands, the 2006 group stage and the 2014 semi-final, which the Albiceleste won on penalties, neither side managed to score in normal or extra time.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said his team had practiced spot-kicks but hoped the match would not go to penalties.
“They always take penalties before and after games, but it’s all about luck when it comes to taking penalties,” he said. “I hope we don’t go to penalties, hopefully the game ends before then.
“We know that we will give our best on the field. We know that football can sometimes be very beautiful and sometimes it can be cruel.”
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