Netherlands vs Argentina - World Cup 2022: Live score, team news, updates in quarter-final clash

18:55

The players emerge into the Lusail Stadium and we’re almost ready to go in this second World Cup quarter-final for 2022.

Some 40,000 Argentines inside the stadium apparently and a mere 1,400 Dutch fans. Still, at least they're visible in bright orange.

Time for the two anthems.

18:50

That Croatia win over Brazil earlier on will take an awful lot of beating today but Holland vs Argentina is the kind of game that could well match up to it!

A place in the World Cup semi-finals, where they will meet Croatia, at stake.

A superb atmosphere within the golden Lusail Iconic Stadium, notably from the many thousands of Argentine fans who are in Qatar genuinely believing - and even more so since Brazil went out - that this is their year.

The lights are dimmed and the fans encouraged to light up their phones for the little pre-game show.

18:45

18:43

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18:34

18:29

Louis van Gaal has just appeared on the Dutch broadcaster NOS pre-match.

He said: ‘It’s fantastic that Brazil, a top favourite, are defeated by Croatia.’

Adds fuel to his argument that Holland are about to go and win it all, no doubt!

Van Gaal was also asked about Argentina changing their shape to take on his side. ‘It shows that Argentina are afraid of us,’ he replied.

18:19

18:16

MATT BARLOW: Lesson No 1 at Education City never write off Croatia. Never ever. Not even when you are Brazil, five times world champions and you are one up deep in extra time and they have yet to muster a shot on target.

Because Croatia possess incredible reserves of spirit and an incredible mental strengths, and having spent most of the second half on the back foot, defending their penalty area, they hit back.

Bruno Petkovic levelled in the 117th minute, and Zlatko Dalic’s team won yet again on penalties, for the second time in this World Cup, with goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic making another fine save in the shootout and Brazil’s Marquinhos hitting a post with the vital kick.

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18:13

It’s interesting to note that Argentina have changed their formation to pretty much match up to the Netherlands for this game.

Having played 4-3-3 for the most part, they’ve gone 5-3-2 here with Marcos Acuna and Nahuel Molina playing as the wing-backs on the left and right respectively.

Lisandro Martinez returns to the back line and Rodrigo de Paul has overcome fitness worries to take his place in then midfield.

Up front, it’s the deadly combination of Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez.

Louis van Gaal has made just the one change from the side that beat the United States, with Steven Bergwijn starting in attack in place of Davy Klaassen.

He will partner Memphis Depay with Cody Gakpo supporting them in what is likely to be a 3-4-1-2.

At the back, Van Gaal has kept with the trio of Jurrien Timber, Virgil van Dijk and Nathan Ake, rather than feeling tempted to bring in Matthijs de Ligt.

18:05

Angel Di Maria was absolutely scathing of Louis van Gaal - his former manager at Manchester United - this week, calling him the worst coach he ever had.

Naturally, Van Gaal was asked about it in yesterday’s press conference and, to the surprise of many, he responded in diplomatic fashion.

It helped Van Gaal that he was sat next to Memphis Depay at the time. Their time working together at Old Trafford wasn’t at all successful but hatchets have long been buried.

‘Memphis had to deal with it too in Manchester, and now we kiss each other on the mouth,’ Van Gaal quipped.

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17:56

17:47

Unbelievable scenes in the first quarter-final because Croatia have dumped Brazil out of the World Cup on penalties.

That late equaliser from Bruno Petkovic cancelled out Neymar’s opener. Then in the shoot-out, Rodrygo saw his penalty saved before Marquinhos hit the post. Croatia scored all four of those.

They are through to another semi-final and it will not be a sixth World Cup triumph for Brazil.

Of course a reminder that the winners of our game between Holland and Argentina will play Croatia in the semi-final.

17:47

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17:31

What incredible spirit from Croatia, who really know how to go the distance!

Petkovic with the strike from the edge of the Brazil box, deflected off the leg of Marquinhos and that deceived Alisson just enough to find the net.

We are three minutes plus stoppages from penalties.

17:27

17:22

So many of the Argentine banners being hung tonight at the Lusail Stadium bear the likenesses of two legends - Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.

The former won the World Cup, of course, the latter is in the last chance saloon when it comes to winning his.

Those Argentine fans will tell you it’s somehow written in the stars that this is Messi’s time.

And having come into the tournament off the back of some excellent from with Paris Saint-Germain, the 35-year-old has proven he can still produce game-changing moments with his two goals so far.

He is the ultimate man for the big occasion but we know he cannot drag Argentina to glory alone.

17:15

There’s finally been a breakthrough in the first quarter-final and it’s the magic feet of Neymar responsible!

He has endured a very quiet game until now but he played a superb one-two with Lucas Paqueta, danced around the Croatian keeper Livakovic and fired into the roof of the net.

Croatia have just 15 minutes to respond.

Incidentally, Neymar has now drawn level with Pele on 77 goals as Brazil’s record goalscorer.

17:09

Budweiser is in the process of making 'alternative, culturally appropriate' arrangements for player of the match awards to accommodate stars such as Kylian Mbappe who do not want to promote alcohol.

The French forward has picked up the player of the match award in three out of four games, but has repeatedly snubbed the beverage giant by holding the trophy backwards in order to hide the logo.

It was noted after he picked up the gong against Australia and Denmark and he again snubbed any promotion of the Budweiser branding after claiming the award against Poland.

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17:05

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16:50

DOMINIC KING: The room fell silent as Louis van Gaal listened to the question. He’d been asked by an Argentine reporter about the coruscating view Angel Di Maria held of him, his former Manchester United player having labelled him the worst coach in his career.

There was a nod of the head, a hint of a reaction on his face as he pressed a finger to his right ear and listened to the translation. He doesn’t always take kindly to criticism, so there was a collective intake of breath as to what might follow.

Initially, there was a surprise. Van Gaal looked as if he was choosing diplomacy ahead of the Netherlands quarter-final date with Argentina, a contest that drips with history, skill and tickertape and encapsulates everything magnificent about World Cup football.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE BELOW 

16:44

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16:37

16:35

Turns out there's another quite important World Cup quarter-final tomorrow night (which I'll also be live blogging…)

England vs France - it has all the making of a blockbuster.

Anyway, Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate and captain Harry Kane are about to address the media and you can follow what they say by clicking below.

16:30

This will actually be the sixth meeting between the two nations at World Cup finals alone.

The first came in the group stages of the 1974 tournament in West Germany, when the 'Total Football' of the Dutch proved far too strong for Argentina in a 4-0 trouncing.

Johan Cruyff scored twice that day in Gelsenkirchen for Rinus Michels' legendary side, with Ruud Krol and Johnny Rep also on target.

Their next encounter would be far more significant - the 1978 World Cup final, which Argentina won 3-1 at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.

Mario Kempes and Daniel Bertoni won the game for Argentina in extra time after Dick Nanninga had cancelled out Kempes' first goal in the first 90.

It would confirm the status of that great Dutch side as only the bridesmaids in major competition.

They met again at precisely this stage at France '98, with Dennis Bergkamp scoring one of the most memorable modern World Cup goals to seal a last-gasp 2-1 win for the Dutch in Marseille.

Their 2006 group stage game was a goalless draw and their 2014 semi-final was also a blank, with Argentina defeating the Dutch, then also coached by Van Gaal, 4-2 on penalties to set up a final with Germany.

16:26

Given his rather strained relationship with journalists over the years, Louis van Gaal wasn’t best pleased to discover the mobile phone he’d accidentally left in the toilet had fallen into the hands of a reporter.

But that’s what happened this week and the journalist in question noted two missed calls from ‘Manchester United’ on the locked phone screen.

It’s led to feverish speculation that United are going to make a move for Holland striker Cody Gakpo.

Either that, or Van Gaal is being lined up for the Old Trafford job again…

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16:21

We’re now past the hour mark in the first of our quarter-finals and it remains goalless between Croatia and Brazil.

The Brazilian fans are creating a superb atmosphere but so far their team has failed to gain the ascendancy and carve out too many clear chances against battle-hardened opponents.

Not much in the game.

16:19

16:13

Any team getting this far at a World Cup would desire a straightforward and hassle-free build-up to the big game.

But that hasn’t happened in the Argentina camp with coach Lionel Scaloni angered by the leak of news about Rodrigo de Paul’s muscle injury, which was picked up in training.

It led to a tetchy exchange with a reporter in his pre-match briefing yesterday.

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16:05

16:03

We should be in a position to confirm the two starting line-ups in another 90 minutes or so but it’s possible we won’t see too many team changes from the last-16 games.

Louis van Gaal has a fully-fit squad to choose his Holland team from and he named an unchanged side in the last-16 win over the United States.

That meant Memphis Depay, whose has endured fitness issues this year, played back-to-back matches for the first time since September. However, he came through and scored a goal, so isn’t likely to be dropped now.

Argentina have a few more doubts over their team. Rodrigo de Paul will have to be assessed before his place is confirmed.

Angel Di Maria is now back in training having missed the win over Australia because of a quadriceps problem. But it remains to be seen whether this game comes too soon.

15:58

These two nations have met at various World Cups but one meeting that sticks in the memory is from France 1998, when the Dutch triumphed right at the end thanks to a magnificent piece of improvisation by Dennis Bergkamp.

And as Sportsmail’s CRAIG HOPE reflects on in this piece, it was just an occasion bursting with colour.

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15:52

Roy Keane was 'sour by his standards' with his comments about Brazil's dancing against South Korea according to Daily Mail football editor Ian Ladyman.

Players showed off a series of pre-planned dance routines to mark their goals during the match, with even boss Tite getting involved after Richarlison scored their third goal in a 4-1 triumph.

Keane called the dancing 'disrespectful' and compared it to 'Strictly Come Dancing', with the ITV pundit since doubling down on his comments after Brazil manager Tite hit back at his comments.

WATCH THE FULL WORLD CUP CONFIDENTIAL VIDEO BELOW

15:49

We have reached the midway point of the opening quarter-final and it’s been something of a cautious and cagey affair so far between Brazil and Croatia.

Goalless at the break with neither side able to fully assert themselves.

15:41

Louis van Gaal is rarely dull in his press conference and it was the same yesterday as he previewed this quarter-final.

A journalist asked how he planned to stop Argentina talisman Lionel Messi and got short shrift.

‘We’re not going to reveal any plans to you - it would be pretty stupid of us to do so,’ Van Gaal replied.

'But it's not that difficult to come up with an answer as to how to stop him. You might want to block and close the passing lines. I can't see this creating too much of a hoo-ha.'

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15:35

The World Cup started with one of its greatest-ever upsets as Saudi Arabia stunned tournament favourites Argentina on the third day.

It was a result for the ages but it also feels like ages ago now because Argentina have responded very strongly to it.

They beat both Mexico and Poland 2-0 to secure top spot in Group C and things slowly started to click.

Not that they were wildly convincing in the last-16 game against Australia on Saturday night, with Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez goals putting them in control, only for a late own goal to give their opponents hope.

Still, nobody want to peak too early at a World Cup and with Messi proving he is very much still a game-changer, you really can’t rule out a lot more to come from Argentina here.

15:28

Louis van Gaal’s side have been efficient at the World Cup so far and remain unbeaten - but you get the impression there should be a bit more to come from them.

Indeed, quite a few pundits back in the Netherlands have been unhappy about what they perceive as a dull and functional manner of playing.

Total Football it ain’t but Holland have been getting the desired results and that’s the priority for Van Gaal who, at 71, is in the final days of his coaching career.

They started their group campaign with a 2-0 win over Senegal, courtesy of two late goals, then drew 0-0 with Ecuador. A comfortable 2-0 success over Qatar ensured top spot.

Their 3-1 win over the United States in the last-16, earned thanks to goals by Memphis Depay, Daley Blind and Denzel Dumfries, was a solid-enough performance.

However, it’s clear they’ll have to be at the very top of their game to defeat Argentina here.

15:22

This quarter-final fixture will be played at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, which has a capacity of 88,966 (originally counted as about 80,000) and is comfortably the largest stadium being used at the Qatar World Cup.

It is situated in Lusail, some 23km north of the capital city Doha, where the majority of games are being played.

Construction on the Lusail Iconic began in 2017 and it was completed in November 2021, with the official inauguration coming on September 9 this year when it hosted the Lusail Super Cup.

It will host 10 matches during the World Cup, including the final on December 18.

Argentina already have mixed memories of the stadium because it was the scene of their shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia to open the tournament but also their 2-0 win over Mexico.

Holland have yet to play there.

15:18

We are about 15 minutes or so into the first of today’s quarter-final double header with Brazil taking on Croatia.

I’ll keep you updated on any goals during the build-up to the Holland vs Argentina game but if you wish to follow the game in more detail, click the link below.

15:12

What a fascinating pair of World Cup quarter-finals we have today.

Brazil vs Croatia - which has just kicked off - isn’t at all bad but Holland vs Argentina is certainly mouth-watering.

The Dutch camp, for a change, seems to be pretty harmonious with coach Louis van Gaal enjoying a successful swansong to date as they’ve reached the last eight while giving the impression they still have a few more gears to go up to.

Argentina, of course, were stunned by that defeat to Saudi Arabia in their opening group game but with Lionel Messi showing he can still produce moments of genius in his farewell World Cup, they have built momentum.

Welcome along to our live coverage of what promises to be a World Cup classic!