Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez told outgoing Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal to “keep his mouth shut” after saving two penalties in an ill-tempered World Cup quarter-final shoot-out win.
With Lionel Messi having lit up Lusail Stadium with a goal and an assist, Argentina seemed to be coasting to a semi-final clash against Croatia, only for Wout Weghorst to hit a brace and seal a remarkable 2-2 draw.
Aston Villa stopper Martinez then took centre stage, saving from Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis as the Dutch fell 4-3 on penalties to Argentina in a repeat of the 2014 semi-final.
A comment made by Louis van Gaal angered Emiliano Martinez (Peter Byrne/PA)
But after the win, Martinez hit out at both Van Gaal and referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz, who struggled to keep a lid on an emotional encounter which saw more than one flashpoint between the squads.
“It was a tricky game,” Martinez told beIN Sports.
“I thought we controlled the game really well. We went 2-0 up, basically we controlled the game. The ref was just giving everything for them.
“He gave 10 minutes (stoppage time) for no reason. He was giving free-kicks outside the box for them, like two, three times.
“He just wanted them to score, that’s basically it. So, hopefully we don’t have that ref anymore. He’s useless.”
🇦🇷🧤 pic.twitter.com/qAmcU4PlkU
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 9, 2022
Of the Netherlands boss, Martinez added: “I heard Van Gaal saying, ‘We’ve got an advantage in penalties. If we go to penalties we win.’
“I think he needs to keep his mouth shut.”
Messi, too, claimed Lahoz was not up to the task of taking charge of the games.
“It (the equaliser) came from a set-piece that I don’t think was a foul,” he said.
“But that is how the referee was during the game. I don’t want to speak about referees because you can be sanctioned. I don’t think he was up to the standard, he was very harmful for us.”
Messi provided a moment of magic to break the deadlock, playing in Nahuel Molina with a reverse, no-look pass before doubling the lead with a second-half penalty.
Wout Weghorst (left) had given the Netherlands hope (Peter Byrne/PA)
But it was Weghorst’s introduction that brought about a comeback that was as unexpected as it was scintillating.
The big striker brilliantly headed in Berghuis’ cross and then, when a last-gasp free-kick was awarded, instead of shooting, Teun Koopmeiners rolled a pass into the area, where Weghorst held off his marker to equalise – a move Van Gaal revealed the striker introduced to the squad and had been worked on in training.
Captain Van Dijk and Berguis saw the first two penalties saved by Martinez.
Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez then fired wide, but Lautaro Martinez hit the winner.
Unlike his captain or goalkeeper, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni refused to discuss the performance of the official, who showed 15 yellow cards during a game Scaloni described as “heated”.
Lionel Scaloni accepted the match had been “heated” (Adam Davy/PA)
The loss was the first experienced by Van Gaal since he returned for a third stint in charge of the Netherlands, with the 71-year-old now retiring from management for a second time.
“At the end of the day I think the score was quite right and in extra time we didn’t really give away chances,” he said, having also been in the dugout for the defeat in 2014.
“This was my very last match. My third term as a head coach. In that time I coached 20 matches but I didn’t lose a single one. I think it is Google you can look that up on.
“I had a wonderful time and yes, it is incredibly painful to see how we have been eliminated. Particularly because I did everything to prevent this from happening.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here