Argentina got a hard-earned win over the Netherlands in the second quarter-final of the World Cup in Qatar. Thanks to that victory, Lionel Messi’s team entered the semi-finals. But despite winning the match, the Argentinians have suppressed their anger with joy. Of course, there is a reason for this. The Spanish referee Antonio Mateo Lahos showed an example of extremely bad refereeing in the whole match.
Lahos picked up a total of 16 yellow cards in the Alibiceleste-Dutch clash. Where Argentina and the Netherlands have to suffer equal 8. However, Argentinian goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez reacted angrily at the end of the match. He said, “Spain has basically been knocked out of the World Cup. That’s why Laos wants Argentina to not win this year’s World Cup.”
Martinez also played a key role in helping Argentina reach the last four. The Argentine goalkeeper put the Dutch away early on, stopping the first two shots on Tribeca. In the end, the Albiceleste were happy with a 4-3 victory. Maybe if these two shots were not blocked, things could have been different. That’s why Martinez was the center of Messi’s celebration after winning the match.
After the match, Argentina captain Lionel Messi said that the referee’s decision went against them. He even thinks that it is a mistake of FIFA to give the responsibility to a referee like Lahos in a big event like the World Cup. Messi said, “His refereeing is unacceptable in a match like the World Cup. We suffered because of his (Lahos) bad decisions. The game lost its normal rhythm. This match between the two teams went to extra time and Tribeca. If we were unlucky, we could have been knocked out of the World Cup. But We won.”
However, Messi does not want to lose his happiness by stepping into the semi-finals. Rather, he is very careful about the opponents of the last four. Where Messi has a strong opponent like Croatia. They beat the hot favorites Brazil. According to the Argentine captain, the Croats, who have played under the same coach for a long time, are a very cohesive team. By understanding each other, they can beat anyone.