Argentina shot-stopper Emiliano Martinez saved two penalties in the penalty shootout against the Netherlands in the quarter-final of the FIFA World Cup 2022 at the Lusail Iconic Stadium on Saturday, December 10. Initially, Argentina were leading 2-0 courtesy of goals from Nahuel Molina and Lionel Messi till the 83rd minute before the Dutch bounced back with two late goals from substitute Wout Weghorst. Nothing separated the two sides after extra time as it went to penalties where La Albi Celeste kept their nerves and won the game.
Five minutes past the half-hour mark, the deadlock was broken and Argentina took the lead. Lionel Messi made a run towards the box before altering his direction and playing a sublime defense-splitting through ball straight to Molina, who kept his composure and slotted it past the keeper.
The scoreline remained the same till the 73rd minute when wing-back Marcos Acuna was taken out by Denzel Dumfries just inside the box as the referee instantly pointed to the spot. Messi stepped up to take it and smashed it in to his right-hand side as the keeper remained rooted in his spot.
Just when it felt like the result was in the bag, the Dutch substitutes combined and pulled one back in the 83rd minute before scoring another one in the 11th minute of second-half stoppage time. Both goals were scored by Weghorst as the Netherlands could see a glimmer of hope.
The scoreline did not change during extra time even though both sides tried their best to sneak the ball into the net. The match was not shy of goalmouth action but turned into a feisty affair soon after the first goal of the match. A total of 16 yellow cards were flashed in the entire match.
As the penalty shootout started, Virgil van Dijk was the first to take a kick from the spot. Emi Martinez went the right way and superbly kept the defenders penalty out. Lionel Messi stepped up to take Argentina's first penalty and sent the keeper the wrong way from the spot.
The second Dutch penalty, attempted by substitute Steven Berghuis was also brilliantly saved by Emi Martinez before Leandro Paredes extended Argentina's advantage. Teun Koopmeiners finally rippled the net from the inside as the Oranje got off the mark.
Gonzalo Montiel and Wout Weghorst scored their respective penalties while Enzo Fernandez dragged his spot-kick wide. Luuk de Jong restored parity for some time before Lautoro Martinez scored the decisive penalty and sent Argentina through to the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2022 where they will face Croatia.
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