The second and last semi-final to determine the team to compete against Germany in this year's World Cup ender will be today, and it is between the South Americans Argentina, and another European team, Netherlands.
Semi-finals Fixtures include the following:
Semi-finals Fixtures:
Date Match Time Venue
July 8 Brazil vs. Germany 4 PM UTC Estadio Mineirao
July 9 Netherlands Vs. Argentina 4 PM UTC Arena de Sao Paulo
In 1978, the two teams have played in a famous finals match where the Albiceleste won 3-1 after extra time. However, it is the only time that the South Americans have won a game against Holland, out of ther four meetings in the World Cup.
Argentina's talisman, Lionel Messi, could be the source of hope for the Argentinian team. Like what he always does in their previous matches, Messi always saves the day and looks unstoppable with his late winning goals. With four goals now at hand, he is currently the tallest wall that the Dutch should overcome to make a European final happen.
However, Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal disagrees with the bandwagon. He said, "I'm not thinking about individual players, I'm thinking always that we have to play against a team, but Messi is a very important player. But we also have very important players in our team: Van Persie, Robben and Sneijder."
Likewise, Argentina should very much watch out for van Gaal's fierce strikers, as they have now currently hold 16 goals for this tournament alone.
Moreover, Messi could have acquired a contender in the face of Arjen Robben, who currently scored 3 goals, all from the team's group matches.
The real thriller here is that will Argentina suffer the same fate as their fellow South Americans, Brazil. Yesterday, a Neymar-less, Thiago Silva-less Brazil lost so severely to another European team, Germany. The score was 7-1. That's an embarrassing loss for the hosts!
Now, it looks like Messi is the only superstar left in the tournament. If he manages to make another trick for his team, then he might as well be in luck of earning his first World Cup to complement his player of the year award.
