Qatar quarter-final classic beckons
Lionel Messi up against Virgil van Dijk. The youngest coach at the World Cup taking on the oldest. South America versus Europe. A back catalog of famous meetings.
The quarterfinal match between Argentina and the Netherlands on Friday has all the ingredients of a classic.
And the possibility of it being Messi’s final game on football’s biggest stage just adds to the anticipation.
The seven-time world player of the year is three wins away from achieving his ultimate dream but he has two people, in particular, blocking his path.
First, the not inconsiderable frame of Van Dijk, who has been one of the world’s best defenders over the past five years.
And then there’s Louis van Gaal, the wily tactician who is 71, has recently undergone successful treatment for prostate cancer, and is now plotting to win the World Cup in perhaps the final job of his 26-year coaching career.
Van Gaal was asked how he was planning to stop Messi — a question for which many coaches down the years have failed to come up with an answer.
“It’d be pretty stupid to reveal your own tactics,” he said, smiling.
“But it’s not that difficult to come up with any answer. You may want to block and close the passing lines. Am I right, Memphis?” he said, looking toward his side’s captain Memphis Depay.
As for his Argentina counterpart, the 44-year-old Lionel Scaloni is a comparative novice after taking charge of his country in 2018 for his first senior coaching role.
Still, he has already led Argentina to the Copa America title last year — the country’s first major trophy since 1993 — and has managed to steady his team after a shocking loss to Saudi Arabia in its opening group game.
While van Gaal was predicting a tight match that will be settled by a “decisive moment,” Scaloni said it will be a “beautiful game because we are talking about two national teams willing to attack but who can also defend”.
It’s set to be a clash of styles between two of football’s historic powerhouses.
Argentina — a two-time champion — preferring to play a possession game and the Dutch — three times a beaten finalist — now typically playing on the counterattack under van Gaal.
Morocco v Portugal
Sunday 4am, Al Thumama Stadium
Portugal have shown what it can do without Cristiano Ronaldo after the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was benched in the 6-1 rout of Switzerland. .
His replacement, Goncalo Ramos, scored the first hat-trick of this year’s World Cup.
It’s not clear if Ronaldo will be recalled for the quarter-final match against Morocco or if he will be asked to accept a reduced role.
“I will use what I believe is the right strategy, as I have done my entire l i f e,” Portugal coach Fernando Santos said.
England v France
Sunday 8am, Al Bayt Stadium
Two of the best strikers in the world go head-to-head in the last of the four quarter-final matches.
Harry Kane finally got off the mark in England’s 3-0 win over Senegal. But he remains well behind Mbappe, who has scored five goals.
“I think we still have not seen the best of Kylian,” France forward Olivier Giroud said.
“I hope [his best] is going to come soon and he will beat all the records. He is amazing . . . and still young, which is scary.”