On Friday, Argentina VS Netherlands will meet one other for the first time in eight years (9 December).
In their five meetings in the World Cup, the two football juggernauts have produced some of the most iconic moments in tournament history, winning two games each and drawing one.
The stakes will be high as the two bitter rivals square off for a spot in the FIFA World Cup 2022 semifinal and a chance to further solidify their place in history.
Argentina is one of only eight countries that have raised the FIFA World Cup Trophy, despite the Oranje only narrowly missing out on the championship despite making it to the final three times.
The South Americans have won the World Cup of football twice, including a 3-1 triumph over the Netherlands in the championship game played at home in 1978. In 1986, they defeated West Germany 3-2 to earn their second.
At the World Cup 2022 in Qatar, both the Netherlands and Argentina overcame some early tournament jitters to advance to the knockout rounds after winning their respective groups.
Argentina v Netherlands 2022: Finding their rhythm
The Netherlands began their 2022 World Cup run with a convincing 2-0 victory against Senegal, the reigning African champion, before playing to a tense 1-1 draw with Ecuador. With a 2-0 victory over the hosts Qatar in their final round-robin game, they atoned for their mistakes.
The Dutch then beat the Americans 3-1 in their round of 16 match to extend their unbeaten streak to 19 games after finding their groove.
One of the biggest upsets in World Cup history occurred when Argentina overturned a 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in the opening round of the competition.
With victories over Mexico (2-0) and Poland (2-0), La Seleccion has now recovered their stride and taken back the top spot in their group. They easily defeated Australia in the matchup for the round of 16 to set up an exciting matchup with the Netherlands.
Argentina v Netherlands 2022: A tit-for-tat history
Having made the World Cup final in 1974, 1978, and 2010, the Netherlands are arguably the best team without a championship.
On each of the three occasions, they came in second place, and in 1998 and 2014, they were eliminated in the semifinals.
When they first met in the 1974 tournament’s group stage, the Netherlands destroyed Argentina 4-0.
Holland made it to the championship game, where they conceded to West Germany.
Argentina defeated the Dutch 3-1 in overtime on home soil in Buenos Aires four years later to exact revenge on them.
In the quarterfinals of the 1998 championship game in France, the Dutch prevailed 20 years later, but Brazil defeated them in the semi-final.
At the conclusion of regulation time, their previous meeting in the semi-final in 2014 came to a deadlock. Argentina won the penalty shootout against the Netherlands and advanced to the championship game for the first time since 1990.
Argentina v Netherlands 2022: Players to watch
With his 94th goal in 169 international games for his country, Argentina’s captain and talisman Lionel Messi demonstrated his track record as a prolific goal scorer in their victory against Australia. Messi rose to the position of all-time leading goal scorer for Argentina as a result. Messi has the X-factor to decide the result of a knockout match, despite the fact that he may not have been as lethal at the World Cup.
Messi’s third goal in this spectacular, against Australia, was his first in the tournament’s knockout round. The Netherlands, in contrast, may not possess the same star power, but they have established themselves as a strong defensive team, having allowed only two goals throughout the tournament. The Dutch would also count on Cody Gakpo and Memphis Depay to attack.
Argentina v Netherlands 2022: Schedule and time
At the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, Argentina and the Netherlands will square off in the quarterfinals.
On December 9 at 22:00 local time, the game will begin. That corresponds to 20:00:00 CET, 13:30 Central Standard Time, 11:00 Pacific Standard Time, and 16:00 Argentina Time (ART).
TyC Sports will broadcast all of the World Cup activity, including this game, in Argentina. Nederlandse Omroep Stichting – NOS will broadcast the action for Dutch viewers.
