That was a sensational contest. Both teams gave it everything and it was decided in the end by a moment of genius, Dennis Bergkamp’s stunning strike earning Holland a place in the last four. They’ll fancy their chances of going all the way now. Beating a team as good as Argentina is no mean feat. But they’ll have to be on it when they face another set of South American giants – the holders, Brazil, who’ve got the brilliant young forward Ronaldo leading their attack. Many believe Ronaldo will come to define this World Cup. Bergkamp might have other ideas, though. Thanks for reading and emailing. Bye!
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Full-time: Holland 2-1 Argentina
PEEP! PEEP! PEEP! THAT’S IT! HOLLAND WILL PLAY BRAZIL IN THE SEMI-FINALS AFTER EDGING A SUPERB GAME. WHY AM I SHOUTING. DENNIS BERGKAMP IS WHY I’M SHOUTING. WHAT A PLAYER. ARIEL ORTEGA, THOUGH. WHAT A PLAYER. BUT WHAT AN IDIOT. ARGENTINA CAN’T BELIEVE THEY’RE OUT.
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90 min+4: Argentina are still pressing and there’s a heart-in-mouth moment as Sensini collects Batistuta’s meek volley from the edge of the area and tries to score with an overhead kick … but the effort is weak and straight at Van der Sar. That should be that.
90 min+2: Jose Chamot comes off and Argentina throw on the veteran striker, Abel Balbo. But it’s Holland on the attack, the man of the moment, Bergkamp, releasing Davids down the right. He clips the ball to the far post, but Kluivert can only nod over the bar.
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90 min+1: There will be four minutes of stoppage time. Argentina couldn’t, could they? That was sensational from Bergkamp. The greatest ever in a World Cup?
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OH MY WORD II! WHAT A GOAL!!! Holland 2-1 Argentina (Bergkamp, 90 min)
Diego Maradona against England in 1986 multiplied by Marco Van Basten against USSR in 1988 divided by Michael Owen against Argentina this week = this goal, one of the greatest that will ever be scored in any football match at any time in any place. It all started with an Argentina attack, Lopez’s cross from the left drifting over the unmarked Batistuta in the middle. With no other Argentina players about, Frank De Boer was able to stroll out of defence, bringing the ball up towards the halfway line. Assessing his options, he looked to release the ball, before spotting Bergkamp making a run in the corner of his eye. With that wand of a left foot, he hit a magnificent 70-yard diagonal pass to Bergkamp, who had advanced into the right side of Argentina‘s area. He let the ball drop over his shoulder and what followed were three touches of genius, each with his right foot. The first saw him pluck the ball out of the sky with astonishing elan. With Ayala marking him tightly, he poked the ball inside to wrongfoot the defender, who goes screeching off into the distance like Road Runner, and then, with his third, with greatness beckoning, he toepoked the ball as it bounced up into the top left corner of Roa’s goal from the right corner of the six-yard box. The stadium erupts, Argentina collapse and Bergkamp races away to be mobbed by jubilant, disbelieving team-mates.. He did it so many times for Arsenal last season, but this is the winner in the last minute of a World Cup quarter-final against Argentina. Barring a minor miracle, Holland are through. It’s Rob Rensenbrink in reverse!
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OH MY WORD! ARGENTINA HAVE PRESSED THE SELF-DESTRUCT BUTTON! ARIEL ORTEGA SENT OFF FOR HEADBUTTING VAN DER SAR!
88 min: What on earth is Ortega playing at here? For such a brainy player, it’s as if someone just flicked off the switch in his head. In the great pantheon of moronic red cards, this one’s right up there. It was just so pointless. With Argentina pressing, Ortega had the ball on the right of Holland’s area. Faced by Stam, he cut inside, before swiftly jinking outside. Stam hung out his left leg, which was the cue for Ortega to take a preposterous tumble. The referee blew - momentarily it seemed for a penalty - but he then flashed a yellow card in Ortega’s direction. Van der Sar then ran over to remonstrate with the Argentinian for diving. Ortega was still on the floor but having been provoked, he bounced up, intentionally crashing the top of his head against Van der Sar’s chin in the process. Right in front of the referee, who immediately shows him red. Ortega has lost Argentina their numerical advantage. It doesn’t get much more selfish than that.
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87 min: It’s all Argentina now. Pineda takes advantage of the acres of space afforded him, before sliding a pass behind the dozing Davids and through to Zanetti on the right side of Holland’s area. He’s got plenty of time and space but, with Batistuta and Lopez waiting in the middle, the cross is dreadful.
85 min: This is getting ridiculous now. On the edge of Holland’s area, Simeone falls ludicrously under a non-existent challenge from De Boer. No free-kick is given but it’s doubtful Argentina are doing much to secure the backing of the neutrals with shameless dives like that. Moments later, Veron has a crack at goal from 30 yards out but it’s straight at Van der Sar.
81 min: Holland are surely going to come under severe pressure now, especially as Veron currently has a grip on midfield. He is setting the tempo for Argentina, dictating play and demanding the ball. Just here, he slipped a delicate pass inside the makeshift left-back, Cocu, for the onrushing Zanetti to chase. He reached it and put the ball into the middle, where Batistuta jumps above De Boer to send a weak header wide of the left post. He’s more Batty than Batigol today.
79 min: What’s encouraging for Holland is that Argentina were clueless when England went down to ten men. Guus Hiddink should adopt the Glenn Hoddle blueprint - squeeze the space in the middle, denying Veron and Ortega space, and force Argentina out wide, where they are extremely uncomfortable.
78 min: Simeone has gone off on a stretcher, but he’ll be back. Oh, he’ll definitely be back. Yes, he’s back. What a surprise. Numan is distraught but has finally gone down the tunnel. Play is yet to restart. The heat will do this to a match. It’s cooking now.
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DIEGO SIMEONE DOES IT AGAIN! ARTHUR NUMAN IS SENT OFF FOR A SECOND BOOKING AND HOLLAND ARE DOWN TO TEN MEN!
76 min: Yes, just like against England, Simeone is at the centre of controversy again. A penny for David Beckham’s thoughts right now. To be fair, Holland can have few complaints about this and it’s no surprise that it’s come from another Argentina counterattack. Numan might blame Davids for the referee’s decision though, because just before he made his tackle, the midfielder had clattered into Veron on the halfway line. Advantage was played, but once Simeone got to the loose ball, Numan chopped him down, his victim flying through the air and writhing in agony. He’s probably not hurt but it was a cynical foul, despite Holland’s protestations. Sensini is enthusiastically applauding the decision.
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74 min: Numan crosses towards the penalty area but Bergkamp had to backtrack to reach it and he was off balance as he nodded tamely wide left.
72 min: There goes Numan again. He’s on his last legs but gets to a long ball and hooks in a cross that Ayala flicks behind. Bergkamp’s corner is poor, though. Argentina take advantages of the gaps in Holland’s defence again on the counter. The danger looks to have been averted by Holland, until Veron nips the ball away from Overmars just outside his own area. The ball diverts to Batistuta but just as he’s about to pull the trigger, play is brought back for a foul on Overmars. The referee took his sweet time making his mind up about that one.
71 min: Great defending by Frank De Boer. Lopez escaped down the left, reaching a fine pass from the excellent Veron. Faced by Reiziger, Lopez produced a sweet toe-poked cross with his left, which was destined for the head of Batistuta until De Boer raced back, stretching every muscle in his neck to get his head to the ball and nod in back to Van der Sar. A potentially game-saving intervention.
68 min: Change for Argentina: Mauricio Pineda replaces Matias Almeyda.
67 min: Cocu has a go from 30 yards out. The supporters behind the Argentina goal now have a souvenir to take home.
65 min: The pace of Overmars is causing trouble already. A long, raking pass from Stam located him deep on the right. He made a complete fool of Simeone, leaving him befuddled and red-faced on the turf with a sumptuous turn, before digging out a delightful cross, which Kluivert headed goalwards, Roa acrobatically leaping backwards to turn his effort over the bar. Like Batistuta before him, Kluivert can’t believe it. Bergkamp takes the corner from the right and again it’s a free header for Stam, arriving late, but his downward header bounces harmlessly wide. He actually should have scored that. This is a fascinating game.
64 min: Argentina get past the halfway line! And what do you know, no sooner do they show some ambition, they hit the post for the second time in the match! Veron leads the counter, running some distance with the ball unchallenged, before finding Batistuta, who’s peeled off to the right. With Holland’s defence completely exposed, a superb first touch with his right foot takes him into the area and past Frank De Boer. His second isn’t too shabby either, an absolute piledriver with his left foot that screams on to the inside of the left post. That was all the more remarkable because Batistuta has been completely invisible, but he only needs one moment to change the game (although he needs another one now). Holland respond with their first substitution, Overmars on for Ronald De Boer.
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63 min: The ball has been in Argentina’s half for roughly ten minutes now. This is astonishing and impressive from Holland in equal measure. Now Davids lets Chamot know that Holland are no longer granting Argentina the time they want, a firm but fair tackle robbing him of possession. The ball runs loose for Kluivert and again he looks for Bergkamp, whose weak shot on the turn on the edge of the area is blocked by Ayala.
62 min: Kluivert lopes inside from the right, casually evading a string of tackles before trying to poke the ball through to Bergkamp, the ball getting stuck in the thicket of Argentina defenders. This isn’t the right tactic for Holland. It has rarely come off today; they’re enjoying success mainly down the flanks and should be careful not to get bogged down in the middle, which is where Argentina are strongest.
60 min: Throw-in to Holland on the right. Ronald De Boer throws it square to Bergkamp, who drops the shoulder to lose his marker, before letting the ball run across his body and loop a volley down the throat of Roa from the edge of the area. Fifteen minutes played in the second half and Argentina have barely touched the ball yet. Numan has Ortega in his pocket. “I‘m down in the shaded corner of the Stade Vélodrome having drawn the tastiest tie of the quarter-finals with my pre-bought ticket allocation,” Justin Kavanagh says. “Though I’m taking a fair bit of stick in my Orange shirt from some beefy looking Argeninian gents around me, one of whom assures me that “When I wear my lucky shirt, my friend, Argentina has never lost.” I’ll take his word for it.”
59 min: Now Sensini has a yellow card. That’s come out of the blue and no one’s sure what happened. Maybe the referee has belatedly decided to book him for one of his many earlier offences
58 min: Unlucky. Jonk’s pea-shooter of a pass somehow squeezes out to the left for Bergkamp, who quickly looks to slip the ball through Kluivert to run on to. Unfortunately they weren’t on the same wavelength. Moments later, a gorgeous pass from Bergkamp rips Argentina apart and sets Numan clear. He crashes into the area but with Kluivert waiting for the cutback he takes too long to decide what to do and Sensini cuts the pass out when it’s eventually played. Kluivert admonishes Numan.
56 min: Davids steams into the back of Ortega. He’s trying to bully him out of the game - this is an intriguing battle. Someone’s fuse is going to blow eventually.
55 min: Boudewijn Zenden and Marc Overmars are warming up for Holland, who are presumably thinking about how they can stretch Argentina, who are relatively susceptible to pace.
54 min: It’s all Holland. The tempo is much better. Argentina can’t get out.
53 min: Holland are winning a succession of corners and this time Veron has to deflect Cocu’s left-wing cross behind. Jonk takes the corner again and Argentina get an almighty escape as the cross skims off the heads off everyone at the near post and comes to the unmarked Kluivert, who fluffs his lines in front of goal, the ball bouncing apologetically to a relieved Roa.
51 min: Jonk curls it in and Sensini gives Stam a sly nudge in the back to put him off-balance as he looked to direct a header towards goal. Argentina clear, but they’re slightly on the rack - until Numan squanders Holland’s momentum with an aimless long ball that drifts out for a goal-kick.
50 min: Numan finds space on the left again, but Sensini blocks his cross behind for a corner.
49 min: It’s pretty tight. Engrossingly edgy. It hasn’t got going yet, although there’s plenty of attacking intent, with both Holland full-backs getting forward encouragingly. Numan charges up the left and fires in a cross which is just too high for Bergkamp in the middle. The ball falls to Chamot on the edge of the six-yard box, but he shanks a dismal clearance straight to Kluivert on the edge of the area. The ball sits up invitingly for him to strike, but he can’t control.
47 min: Argentina will probably want to finish this inside the 90 - they have played extra-time and Holland have had an extra day’s rest. Ortega dinks a ball through to Veron on the left side of the area, and Frank De Boer carelessly concedes a corner with a loose touch. Lopez whips it in and Cocu rises imperiously above Batistuta to head clear.
46 min: Off we go again. 45 more minutes and we may know who will face Brazil in the semi-finals of the World Cup. Holland take the kick-off and we’re up and running, until Jonk fouls Veron needlessly. An inauspicious start.
“You keep mentioning how Stam is having a shocker,” Philip West says. “Looking at the alternatives do you think Ferguson is watching this and wondering about Veron?He looks like someone who would thrive in the Premiership? What do you think?”
You could be right. Veron has been brilliant in Serie A and Manchester United could possibly do with strengthening in midfield after their collapse last season. And is Roy Keane going to be the same player when he returns from his knee injury?
Half-time: Holland 1-1 Argentina
Peep! Peep! The half-time whistle blows, the end to a fine, open first half of football.
45 min +1: Van der Sar stood still. He watched, he prayed and he breathed a sigh of relief. This was all down to excellent foraging from the marauding Zanetti, who darted in from the right flank, bothering several Holland defenders on the edge of the area. He was unable to work space for the shot so offloaded it to Batistuta instead. With his back to goal, he then passed the ball left to Simeone, who smashed a first-time shot with his right foot that whistled just wide. What an effort.
45 min: Another free-kick to Argetina; another foul on Ortega, this time by Ronald De Boer on the right touchline. Ortega does go down very easily. “Twenty years ago it wasn’t that much of a stretch to imagine it could have been Scotland playing in the World Cup final,” Simon McMahon says. “I hope I’m wrong, but after the disastrous performance against Morocco in the final group match, and with an ageing squad and manager, I fear it could be at least another twenty years before we even make the finals again. And only then if they include about 48 teams.”
44 min: Again Stam fails to convince and he can count himself highly fortunate not to have received a second yellow card for a clumsy lunge to halt another scintillating run by Ortega 25 yards from goal. That’s very lenient by the referee and kind of inconsistent too. Argentina do have a free-kick, though, and this is not too dissimilar a situation to the one England faced on Tuesday night, where a splendidly sneaky set-piece set up Zanetti for the equaliser. Batistuta takes a long run-up and then, well, they’ve got a whole catalogue of pre-planned ideas up their sleeves. He runs straight over the ball and on into the area, allowing Veron to chip it to an Simeone player on the edge of the area. He looks to head it on to Batistuta, but the execution is wrong.
41 min: Unless it’s a David Batty penalty, Roa seems very dodgy indeed. He was all at sea here, as Jonk clipped a cute pass down the inside-right channel for Bergkamp, who dinked a teasing cross which took a nick off Sensini and spooned up into the middle. For a moment it appeared it would loop over Roa and into the net, but instead it drifts across goal, with the goalkeeper contenting himself with a strange scamper around his six-yard box. He really didn’t know what he was up to there.
40 min: A lull. It’s not exactly end-to-end but what’s interesting is the way that control of possession is swinging to and fro, as if both teams are playing only in five-minute bursts, perhaps a tactic designed to deal with the heat. Naturally Davids is the one who gets frustrated with Argentina’s pretty patterns in the end, and, growling, wrestles and bumps the unfortunate Almeyda to the floor on halfway. I’m only watching this on a television, but I’m a bit worried Davids is going to leap out of the screen and throttle me for control of the remote.
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38 min: Ortega hits the post! On the left touchline, Veron collected the clearing header from the corner before it went out. He found Ortega with a pass inside and with Davids nowhere to be sen for once, the slouching playmaker lets fly with a brilliant right-footer from 25 yards that screams past Van der Sar and cracks on to the left post . This is turning into a brilliant game. Shortly afterwards, after a Holland foray comes to nought, Argentina break at speed again, Lopez always the willing outlet on the left. Once more, he outstrips the cumbersome Stam - £10m well spent by Manchester United there, it seems - but his cutback is a waste, miscued straight to Van der Sar with Batistuta hanging back just outside the six-yard box. Worryingly for United, Stam is being made to look one-paced here.
35 min: Holland are on top now and their main man, Ronald De Boer, his quick feet a joy to watch, slaloms in from the right before laying the ball back to Jonk, whose swerving shot is beaten aside by Roa. It was straight at the goalkeeper but not for the first time he decided to beat it away rather than hold on to it. Corner. Jonk overhits it.
34 min: Lovely play by Numan, as he sashays in from the left, gliding towards Argentina’s area. He exchanges passes with Kluivert and then, with little else on, decides to continue the succession of one-twos, slipping the ball into the area for Kluivert, only for Chamot to step in with a timely block. Otherwise Kluivert would have been clear eight yards out. He still was, only he didn’t have the ball.
33 min: Ortega shows commendable workrate to rob Bergkamp on the left. He looks to start another swift break, only to lose his footing, and there’s – yep – Davids steaming in to seize possession. He’s playing with a ferocious intensity; at times it’s as if he’s taking on Argentina on his own. Meanwhile Batistuta, the wonderful Fiorentina forward, has been quiet. Too quiet.
30 min: Davids is growing in influence as the half progresses and has gone close again. Bergkamp and Ronald De Boer combined to get the ball through to Kluivert on the edge of the area. He laid the ball off to Bergkamp, who was illegally buffeted to the ground, but Davids sniffed an opportunity and whacked a left-footed volley from 25 yards out that Roa beat away with some difficulty. The ball spoons away, but Kluivert couldn’t reach the rebound.
29 min: Ronald De Boer tries to beat Simeone on the outside. Simeone gets his body in the way and De Boer bundles him over. And here, what’s this? A contretemps? The two players appear to be having a disagreement over something, their arms are around each other … ah, no, they’re actually apologising to each other. After all, you’d have to be really quite stupid to get riled up by Simeone. Oh.
27 min: Wonk! At least David Beckham will have enjoyed this, Simeone falling over and shanking a woeful shot up into the air and down into Van der Sar’s gloves after more fine approach work from Ortega. That’s if poor old Becks is watching this, of course…
26 min: There’s the pit bull! Davids has spent most of the first half nibbling away at Ortega, but finally he shows why he is so feared in an attacking sense too. Collecting a wonderful Bergkamp reverse-pass, which took Almeyda out of the game, he bulldozed his way forward, dropping the shoulder to bypass Ayala and then Sensini on the left. A gap opens up, but 10 yards from goal, he hits a fierce drive over the angle of post and bar. You wouldn’t want to get in his way. Holland need more of that because so far they have been very milky in midfield.
24 min: Holland are creaking at the back but in fairness, this was a lightning counterattack from Argentina. Holland were on the attack - a fairly ponderous one to be honest - but when Bergkamp’s intended through ball to Kluivert was blasted clear by Sensini, Argentina broke at a quite breathtaking pace. Lopez raced down the left flank, tracked by Stam, whose desperate last-ditch slide tackle was not enough to prevent the striker from bursting through on goal. In fairness, the intervention at least made the angle tighter, so instead Lopez was forced to poke the ball through Van der Sar’s legs and into the six-yard box, where Frank De Boer had got himself into a crucial position. Batistuta was lurking behind him and would have scored. Holland escape, but for how long?
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22 min: Another booking and the game is starting to match the weather, as Chamot is booked for a trip on Bergkamp on the left. Jonk takes it again but Argentina clear his cross without problems.
21 min: What a waste! Numan, who’s having a shocker, dallies on the ball and Batistuta nips in to pinch the ball off him. Argentina suddenly had a two-on-one situation, with Stam isolated, but Batistuta’s attempted pass to Lopez is dreadful, hopelessly miscued and it flies straight through to Van der Sar.
19 min: Holland stream forward again and win a free-kick on the right, Ronald De Boer brought down. Jonk whips it in but Bergkamp’s header isn’t firm enough and Roa saves.
GOAL! Holland 1-1 Argentina (Lopez, 17 min)
The reprieve was only temporary. Just seconds after that Veron chance, Argentina draw level with the slickest of goals. Remarkably it came straight from Holland’s clearance and this has been the game in microcosm, with the Dutch simply incapable of holding on to possession for more than a few seconds. Van der Sar hoofed the ball to Bergkamp on the halfway line but he was swiftly engulfed by three Argentina defenders. Veron was left unattended in space between the midfield and the back four, and had ample time to slide a simple through ball straight down the middle for Lopez, beating an awful offside trap with ease. What followed was one of the coolest goals you could hope to see, Lopez opening up his body to put the ball on to his left, before producing roughly 73 dummies and feints in a bid to dupe Van der Sar. Just as one was about to scream at him to shoot, Van der Sar, simply unable to wait any longer, took the bait and collapsed on his backside, and Lopez, looking like a man supping a cocktail on the beach, rolled the ball through his legs and into the net. That was so infuriatingly calm - he could have done anything he wanted once Van der Sar had fallen - and it could only have been more insulting if he’d walked the ball to the line, stooped down to his knees and nodded it in.
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17 min: Whoops! Holland are their own worst enemies at times. Davids wonks a wayward pass to Numan out on the left. It’s so firmly hit and in his attempt to keep the ball from going out for a throw-in, Numan miscontrols the ball into the path of Ortega, who’s on it in a flash. Suddenly realising that Ortega has a free run at his defence, Numan cynically brings him down, conceding a free-kick and injuring himself in the process. As he lies prone on the turf, a yellow card is flashed in his direction. How heartless. He’s hurt himself, in case you didn’t see! From the resulting free-kick, Argentina nearly find the equaliser. It was taken short and the sublime Veron loped ominously into Dutch territory. Upon reaching the area, he played a lovely wall pass with Batistuta, Holland carved open like a biology student dissecting a frog, but was just unable to reach the return on the stretch and Van der Sar plunges on the ball. Veron holds his head in his hands, but it’s coming. Argentina know it. More importantly, Holland know it.
14 min: Everything Argentina do is going through Ortega as usual, but his curled cross towards Batistuta from the left is headed away by Frank De Boer, and Stam completes the clearance. The goal doesn’t really seem to have overly knocked Argentina out of their stride; they’re still dominating possession.
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GOAL! Holland 1-0 Argentina (Kluivert, 12 min)
Holland take the lead against the run of play! And what a superb, clinical strike it is too. They’ve been well below par in midfield, but Ronald De Boer has taken the game by the scruff of the neck here, dodging Almeyda’s challenge and gliding supremely through a centre as soft as mushy peas. Twenty-five yards from goal, it looked for a moment as if he would shoot, but instead he disguised his intentions and chipped a delightful pass towards Bergkamp, who had edged to the left. Showing typically wonderful awareness, Bergkamp sliced open Argentina’s dizzy defence, coaxing the ball into the path of Kluivert with a gorgeously cushioned header, allowing the striker to stroll through the middle and coolly clip the ball over the onrushing Roa from 15 yards out. That was a sublime team goal. And yet so crushingly simple. A sea of orange explodes.
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11 min: Batistuta, Veron and Simeone have a meeting of minds over the free-kick, which is 25 yards from goal, just to the left, perfect for the right-footer. Presumably Batistuta makes that point, because the other two reluctantly step aside. Between them they tee up Batistuta for the shot, but Davids charges away from the wall to block the free-kick. It’s fair to say he’s up for this one.
10 min: Despite that early chance for Jonk, Argentina are the more assured side, with a greater fluency on the ball. Holland look a tad edgy. And now Stam is booked, betraying those frayed nerves, as he halts a menacing burst from Ortega in from the left with a clumsy challenge. He was holding on to Ortega’s shirt for good measure too.
9 min: Again Lopez looks to embarrass Stam with his pace, running on to a through ball from deep. Stam does excellently to cover the danger, easily matching the nippy forward stride for stride, getting his body in between him and ball before lumping it up the left flank for a throw-in. Argentina work it out to the left and Chamot looks to slide it through to Lopez, but the ball is ushered back to Van Der Sar.
8 min: Another foul from Davids, this time on Veron, who looks imploringly at the referee. Davids needs to be careful here.
7 min: Veron tries to slip a pass through for Batistuta but Stam cuts it out. Moments later, Ortega is brought down by the snarling Davids, the pitbull snapping away at his heels. That engrossing battle will be one to watch.
6 min: Jonk whips the corner into the near post where Frank De Boer manages to flick a header into the danger area, but Roa does well to claim the ball confidently.
5 min: Holland stir and nearly take the lead! Under little pressure, Ayala plays a sloppy pass straight out of defence to Kluivert, who instantly knocks a cute pass over the top to Bergkamp. He is forced a tad wide, out on the left, and is unable to shoot. Instead he rolls a pass inside to Kluivert, who’s blocked off by Sensini. From the clearance, Cocu’s drive from the edge of the area is deflected to the right of the area, where Jonk loops a beautiful volley against the near post. The ball comes back at pace to Jonk, who’s unable to control it, and after half-chances for Kluivert and Cocu, the ball is deflected behind for a corner out on the left.
4 min: Holland really miss the pace of Overmars. He was insanely brilliant for Arsenal’s Double winners last season.
3 min: Lopez twists and turns on the right side of the area. He’s a tricky little striker, this one. Eventually he fires in a low cross, which Frank De Boer knocks out to the edge of the area. Ortega, always mischievous, assumes control, but Davids halts his menacing foray into the heart of Holland’s area. Argentina are on top in these early stages.
2 min: Here’s the first glimpse of Ortega, the key man for Argentina, as he jinks and twists past a couple of Dutch challenges on the halfway line, eventually persuading Numan to bring him down. In such a tight spot, his nifty footwork was a joy to watch there.
Peep! We’re off! Argentina get us under way, kicking from left to right. They are in their traditional blue and white stripes, Holland in their Brilliant Oranje. Holland immediately win possession, Kluivert spreading play out to the left for Numan, who knocks a pass down the left-hand channel for Davids to chase. He manages to reach the ball before it drifts out for a goal-kick, only to concede a free-kick as he grapples with Zanetti.
The teams are out on the pitch. The sky is blue, the weather is hot and it’s the third World Cup quarter-final. Hip hip! Or should that be Hup Hup? No, because we’re totally impartial around here. Vamos!
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Holland name the hamstrung Marc Overmars on the bench, while Patrick Kluivert returns in place of Clarence Seedorf. He will partner Dennis Bergkamp up front. Argentina make one change, Roberto Sensini replacing Nelson Vivas in defence.
The teams!
Holland (4-4-2): Van der Sar; Reiziger, Stam, Frank De Boer, Numan; Ronald De Boer, Jonk, Davids, Cocu; Bergkamp, Kluivert. Subs: De Goey, Ooijer, Bogarde, Van Bronckhorst, Winter, Seedorf, Zenden, Overmars, Hasselbaink, Van Hooijdonk.
Argentina (3-3-2-2): Roa; Ayala, Chamot, Sensini; Zanetti, Almeyda, Simeone; Veron, Ortega; Lopez, Batistuta. Subs: Pineda, Burgos, Paz, Vivas, Astrada, Cavallero, Balbo, Crespo, Gallardo, Delgado.
Referee: Arturo Brizio Carter (Mexico).
The venue: Stade Velodrome, Marseille.
For the winners: A semi-final against world champions Brazil.
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Here, would anyone like a large helping of jingoism? With a nice slice of xenophobia on the side. Assuming you haven’t been living under a rock for the last week or so, you’ll have heard about the slightly controversial match that took place in St Etienne four days ago. So, no prizes for guessing who England fans will be supporting here. Plus they’re suckers for hard-luck stories. Backing the Dutch will feel normal.
Which way will it go, though? All hype aside, Argentina are fortunate to be in this quarter-final at England’s expense. After all Glenn Hoddle’s side were magnificent on Tuesday night. Only, nothing went their way, Paul Scholes missing a glorious chance to make it 3-1 and lights out in the first half, David Beckham having a wee meltdown, Diego Simeone being Diego Simeone, Alan Shearer foolishly elbowing Carlos Roa as Sol Campbell ‘scored’, a curiously-placed divot denying Michael Owen when he went on another of those engrossing runs of his, a blatant handball in the area by Jose Chamot going unpunished during extra-time, David Seaman somehow letting in Roberto Ayala’s atrocious penalty in the shoot-out and Kevin Keegan predicting that David Batty would score his. Oh Kevin! You make your own luck and all that, but still. If that match proved anything, it is that Argentina, for all their exquisite talent, are very much there for the taking.
Then again, Argentina might say the same about Holland. And with good reason too. The Dutch drew two of their group games, only managing a win against South Korea, and were then downright shabby against Yugoslavia in their second-round match. With the match poised at 1-1 in the second half, they were let off the hook when Predrag Mijatovic plonked a penalty against the bar, before Edgar Davids won it for Holland with a hit-and-hope effort from the edge of the area in the last minute. Again, there’s terrific flair in that side, but it’s yet to really catch fire. But what do I know? Both sides are still unbeaten. It’s bound to be tight.
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Preamble
The mere mention of Rob Rensenbrink should be enough to send a shiver down the spine of any Holland fan old enough to remember the 1978 World Cup. Rensenbrink, of course, is the byword for footballing misfortune, the man who stared glory in the face and blinked. He was the man who could have altered history, who could have defined a generation. Instead he was the man who missed – in the last minute of the World Cup final.
With the match against the hosts Argentina delicately poised at 1-1, Holland had a free-kick just inside their half. From the centre circle, it was sent long into the Argentina area by Ruud Krol. The defending was poor, Argentina’s right-back allowing the pass to bounce through to Rensenbrink, whose run had gone unnoticed by his supposed marker. The attacker reached the ball before the goalkeeper Ubaldo Fillol, stuck out his left leg and poked a shot goalwards from the left side of the six-yard box.
As he made contact with the ball, Fillol clattered into him, which would hardly have made a difference to Rensenbrink if his effort had rolled into the empty goal. How could it have? With the last kick of the match, he would have won the World Cup for Holland, for the first time, four years after they had lost in the final to West Germany. But the ball took one final bounce on its journey and that was all it required to alter the shot’s trajectory, kick fatefully away from goal, on to the near post and back out into the area. It was hacked clear, and moments later the full-time whistle blew.
Needless to say, Argentina scored twice in extra-time to secure a 3-1 victory. They, not Holland, had their name on the trophy for the first time. Eight years later, they won it for the second time. Twenty years later, Holland have not gone closer. Today they have a chance for revenge, an opportunity to reach the last four at Argentina’s expense. Will Rensenbrink be watching?
Kick-off: 3.30pm BST, 4.30pm in Marseille (or 7.45pm BST in the year 2020).
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