SAO PAOLO — Once again, Holland were reminded last night why it is only really the English who tend to be more petrified of football penalty shootouts.
It had been a recurring theme until the quarter-final against Costa Rica and this time, Holland coach Louis van Gaal had already used his three substitutes and could not bring on Tim Krul for his regular goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen.
Argentina had the greater accuracy from 12 yards and Lionel Messi will get his first World Cup final.
It had been a wretched semi-final until those moments when the players lined up in the centre-circle for that last test of nerve.
Arjen Robben and Dirk Kuyt both scored for Holland, but Sergio Romero, Argentina’s goalkeeper, saved the first attempt from Ron Vlaar and later turned away Wesley Sneijder’s effort.
Cillessen had never saved a penalty in 16 previous attempts. Messi safely put the first one away. Then Ezequiel Garay and two of the substitutes, Sergio Agüero and Maxi Rodríguez, all beat the Dutch goalkeeper.
Argentina had started the game encouragingly, but Van Gaal had deployed Nigel de Jong for the first hour specifically to keep close to Messi and, when the Dutch midfielder was taken off, the four-time Ballon d’Or winner could not inspire his team. The tactic worked for the most part, but that still does not fully explain why the two teams played with so little momentum or ambition.
Messi is one of the few players in the world who can force opponents into these measures and at times, Holland looked reticent, maybe even afraid, about risking their shape by committing too many players forward. After all the suave attacking play from Germany in the other semi-final, it made for a prosaic alternative. Argentina began the game as the more menacing side, but the tempo was slow and there was a streak of apprehension, perhaps, about the way the first half unfolded. Messi bent a free-kick round the defensive wall, but not with enough deception to beat Cillessen in the Dutch goal.
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Garay followed that up by almost turning in Ezequiel Lavezzi’s corner. Otherwise, there was little noteworthy from either side in open play.
Robben was struggling to get on the ball in dangerous areas and when that happens Holland never look quite the same. Messi walked through some passages of the game and De Jong did not really have to resort to desperate tactics to stop him.
Gonzalo Higuaín showed some neat touches, but it was a tense, scruffy game and the Argentina fans had to get their entertainment in those moments by holding up seven fingers to indulge in some malicious pleasure at what had happened to Brazil in Belo Horizonte the previous evening.
Van Gaal could be seen leaving his dugout midway through the first half and angrily gesturing to his players that he was not fully satisfied with their structure in an attacking sense. More than anything, they needed to involve Robben more.
No other player has put together more runs into the opposition penalty area in this tournament, but he was on the edges far more than in Holland’s previous games. Messi was more willing to drop further back, often drifting into the centre-circle in his search for the ball, and there was another reminder of his talent with the control and run that culminated in Martins Indi collecting a yellow card.
Martins Indi was grateful for the leniency of the Turkish referee not to have been booked for an earlier foul and Van Gaal took the safety-first option at half-time by replacing him with Daryl Janmaat. Blind took over from Martins Indi in the three-man central defence while Janmaat was given the right-midfield slot and Kuyt swapped to the left.
Unfortunately for the game, there was no discernible change in the pattern of play. Argentina were content defending deeply, then trying to find Messi on the counter-attack, whereas Van Gaal’s players did not appear to have enough trust in themselves.
At least there were flashes of danger from Messi, including one jink to the left that would have taken him clear but for a splendid saving tackle from Ron Vlaar. Holland, however, lacked promise or imagination, content to play the ball sideways rather than breaking forward with any real intent.
Van Gaal’s next change was a more intriguing one because it meant the end to De Jong’s night’s work, but the game seemed to be trapped in tedium by that stage and in the space of five minutes there was the sight of Kuyt and then Sneijder putting what should have been routine cross-field passes straight out for goal-kicks.
Agüero was brought on to enliven Argentina’s attack, but Vlaar was having a splendid game in the heart of the Dutch defence and, after Javier Mascherano cut out a late chance for Robben, the subdued nature of the crowd told its own story as the game ambled towards extra-time. — Guardian
