Argentina sets up summit clash with Germany

It will be a final too delicious to digest for the Brazilians for they will have to welcome their biggest rival in football in their historic stadium in their country at the Maracana on Sunday. There they will be up against there old rival Germany and it will be a repeat clash of the 1986 and 1990 world cup finals. Incidentally both Argentina and Germany had their last world cup triumphs when they had played against each other-the argentines in 1986 and the Germans in 1990. So the upcoming final on Sunday will surely be a clash of couple of old foes who have a lot of things to settle among themselves.

Coming into the match nothing much can be said regarding the display of football for neither team lived up to the expectation in the regulation time and 30 minutes of extra time. Both teams were evenly matched before the match had gone on into the penalties. Arjen Robben came closest in the dying minutes of the 90 minutes but Javier Mascherano’s last stitch tackle saved the day for the Argentines. Messi and co were mostly kept silent except on few occasions when they managed to get away from their markers and penetrate. But neither team could score for they lacked the finishing touch that would have broken the deadlock. Vlaar had a great match in the heart of Dutch defense for he had his opponents checked with his rightly timed tackles and fine clearances. Van Gaal’s tactics worked out properly and it seemed both teams were just happy to see the match roll into the tie-breaker.

Once the match had gone on to the penalty shoot-out it was anybody’s game. And it was Argentina who prevailed over the Dutch 4-2, thanks to couple of excellent saves from Sergio Romero. The second save which denied Wesley Sneijder was particularly exceptional. For Argentina, Messi, Garay, Aguero and Maxi Rodriguez found the back of the net while Robben and Dirk Kuyt managed to score for the Men in Orange. Vlaar, who took the first shot from the spot and was having a great match till then, missed as Romero dived to his left make an easy save. The save from Sneijder was much tougher though. And once Maxi Rodriguez had his shot in the back of the net, it was Argentina who were into the finals for the first time since 1990.

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About Argha Ghosh

An ardent follower of sports and die-hard Manchester United fan, Argha's ultimate dream is to watch a Manchester derby from the Stretford End at the Old Trafford.