Early final between Argentina and the Netherlands at the World Cup.

Argentine star Lionel Messi faces another tough test as he makes his dream of regaining his country’s FIFA World Cup title again when Argentina faces their Dutch counterpart in the quarter-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Friday. at Lusail Stadium.

This match is considered the early final of the tournament, as it recalls the previous meetings that brought together two teams at the World Championship, the most striking of which was the final match of the 1978 championship in Argentina, during which the Tango Dancers team won its first title in the tournament, winning 3/1 against the Mills team.

Both teams are looking to earn a golden square nomination in the most important and powerful tournament in the world of round witches to continue their dreams as the Argentina national team looks forward to claiming their third title in the tournament. and for the first time in 36 years, while the Netherlands hope to host the World Cup for the first time after reaching the final 3 times.

During their career in the current World Cup, the Argentina national team, participating in the World Cup for the 18th time, reached the 1/8 finals, leading the rating of Group C, which included the teams Poland, Mexico and Saudi Arabia, with 6 points, of two victories and one defeat.

Argentina have advanced to the quarter-finals of the tournament for the seventh time in the last ten editions of the tournament after defeating Australia 2/1 in the round of 16 as they currently look to reach the golden square of the “World Cup”. for the sixth time in its history and the second in the last 3 editions.

The Argentina national team owes much of their ascension to this role to Messi, who scored four of the team’s total of 7 goals in the tournament after scoring 3 goals and providing one assist.

Messi, who has been voted the best player in the world 7 times, hopes to write his name in golden letters in the history of world football, along with his late compatriot Diego Maradona and Brazilian legend Pelé, who combined amazing skill with winning titles, awards and stunning victories. popularity, in addition to winning the World Cup, which he won. The French player of Paris Saint-Germain still dreams of his first coronation.

Messi, 35, said shortly before the tournament that this edition was special for him, especially since it would be his last chance to win the World Cup in his fifth participation in the tournament.

Messi went on to make history with the Argentina national team at the World Cup after opening the scoring during the match against Australia in which he made the 1,000th match of his career inside the green box, whether with his country or with his current teams Paris. Saint Germain and the former Barcelona.

Although this is Messi’s first goal in the World Cup qualifying rounds, in his long World Cup career, which began in 2006 in Germany, he was ranked 9th in his record for Argentina. equalize with former striker Gabriel Batistuta, Latin America’s historic top scorer at the World Cup.

Messi solidified his lead on Argentina’s all-time goalscoring list with 94 goals in 169 appearances for the team in various competitions, as well as scoring his 14th goal for the team in 2022, more than ever. another calendar year.

Messi spoke about the upcoming showdown with the Netherlands, where he said: “We are moving step by step towards the 2022 World Cup and we are aware of the passion of the Argentine fans and their feelings in winning and winning.”

For its part, the Dutch team dreams of reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup for the sixth time in its history, in its 11th participation in the “World Cup”, despite the difficult task ahead of them.

Veteran coach Louis van Gaal’s team topped Group A of Qatar, Senegal and Ecuador with 7 points, two wins and one draw.

The Dutch national team had no difficulty in overcoming their American counterpart in the 1/8 finals, beating him with a score of 3/1, as the experience of their players decided the situation in their favor, despite the attempts of the American team to surprise.

Denzel Dumfries scored for the Netherlands in the match, scoring goals from teammates Memphis Depay and Daley Blind before scoring a third for the Oranges.

Dumfries, 26, didn’t pay much attention to the huge fuss around Messi ahead of the two teams’ meeting, as he said: “The match is not decided by one player. We also have a mission to make Dutch hearts happy. It’s the only thing we’re here for.”

Dumfries, the Italian player for Inter Milan, spoke about his country: “We have a lot of skills in the team. There is room for improvement.”

The Netherlands are looking to avenge Argentina’s loss on penalties in their last World Cup fixture, the 2014 World Cup semi-final in Brazil, where Van Gaal then captained the Netherlands.

Van Gaal promised the Argentina national team ahead of the expected match as he told the Dutch Network (NOS), “I have an account with Argentina. I hope the Dutch fans will support us because we will get a lot of support from this.”

This will be the sixth confrontation between Argentina and the Netherlands at the World Cup, as their meetings are always characterized by passion and clubs, which is revealed in the language of numbers.

Moreover, each team twice exchanged victories over the other, while imposing the same draw in one match in their previous five meetings at the World Championship.

In total, the two teams have met in 9 meetings, both at official and friendly level, with the Netherlands team winning 4 matches and Argentina winning 3 matches, and the draw dragged on for two matches.

It is noteworthy that the winner of this match next Tuesday will meet in the semi-finals at Lusail Stadium with the winner of the match Brazil-Croatia.