Holland falls and Germany and Argentina move on to the finals.
Holland suffers another heartbreak today after they failed to reach back-to back World Cup finals. Argentina takes the semi-final win and heads to the final round. There were people who predicted Spain and Chile to be the favorites of Group B, leaving the Netherlands out in the first round. As we’ve all seen, they were named winners of their group and fought their way to the semi-finals. Netherland players and fans were hoping to make history by bringing the first World Cup title home, but unfortunately luck was not on their side during the penalty shootout during the semi-final game.
Romero is named the shoot-out hero due to his astonishing saves from Wesley Sneijder and Ron Vlaar. Maxi Rodriguez makes the fourth penalty kick, finally ending the game and sending Argentina to the World Cup finals and a night full of celebrations. Let’s take a look and see just how close this game was.
When it came to goal attempts, the Netherlands and Argentina didn’t have too much of a difference, explaining why the game went for so long without a goal. After Germany blew everyone’s minds yesterday with 7 goals in the semi-finals round, Argentina and the Netherlands struggled to make a goal between them in 120 minutes before the shootout; becoming the first World Cup semi-final to end in a goalless draw. Holland’s initial focus was to defend and stop Argentina’s main man, Lionel Messi. It seems they were so focused on defending that they temporarily forgot about offense, making it a total of 99 minutes before they rounded up their first shot on target. The goal of the game is to score, and both teams failed to do so during the first and second half. Unlike the Germany and Brazil game, both teams were still in it and within sight of the world Cup Final. From what we’ve seen so far, anything can happen in the finals. With persistence and a little bit of luck, Argentina moves on to fight for their third World Cup title.
The game we’ve been waiting for.
Whether your team made it or not, everyone is eager for the finals and wondering who will bring home the World Cup title. I don’t think many viewers predicted this matchup; especially with Brazil losing in the semi-finals. After Germany’s win over Brazil Tuesday, many are claiming they have this in the bag. Although I’m not sure we can give up on Argentina that easily. Let’s take a deeper look at our matchup on Sunday.
Argentina leads slightly with average attempts but Germany takes the lead with average goals per game and shots on target percentage. The anticipation is high to see if Germany can keep their momentum going for a fourth world cup. The game between Argentina and the Netherlands may have been a bit dull, but Argentina is just as hungry as Germany for the title. This game will undeniably be a classic.