Netherlands vs Argentina: World Cup quarter final team news and prediction

Netherlands and Argentina last faced off in the 2014 World Cup semi-finals, where Argentina progressed to the final on penalties after a 0-0 draw. Argentina made a poor start to the tournament, but have recovered, while the Netherlands have been impressive in their campaign so far and they’re out for revenge for that aforementioned loss, so we should see an enthralling encounter between two high quality sides.

Ahead of this one, we provide the necessary pre-match information, including where to watch the World Cup quarter final, team news and probable XIs.  

When is kick off?         

Friday 9th December, 19:00 GMT         

Where is the match?        

Lusial Stadium, Lusail (Qatar)

What TV channel is it on?        

BBC One and BBC iPlayer    

Route to the quarter final

The Netherlands breezed through their group after seeing off both Senegal and Qatar. They also defeated the USA 3-1 in their round of 16 tie. Having missed the 2018 World Cup and an earlier than expected exit in Euro 2020, Louis van Gaal will be keen to take his Netherlands side as far as he can, with revenge for 2014 still in his mind.

Argentina edged past Australia 2-1 in their knockout game after topping the group, despite their shock defeat to Saudi Arabia. Lionel Messi and co. will see exiting at this stage as a failure, with Argentina expected to reach the semis at the very least. They will be cautious against a strong Netherlands side, especially given they have won just one meeting in nine against the Dutch.  

Team news

Louis van Gaal doesn’t have any injury concerns to worry about heading into this quarter final and should name a similar side to the one that beat the USA. Denzel Dumfries and Daley Blind were both standouts against the USA and both should start again. Cody Gakpo is the one to be wary of for Argentina, having scored in all three group games, but with Memphis Depay also getting on the scoresheet, the Argentine defence will have their hands full.

Lionel Scaloni saw Papu Gomez come off against Australia, while Angel Di Maria missed the round of 16 tie. The latter should be fit to play against Netherlands, but with Julian Alvarez in good goalscoring form with two from his last two games, Di Maria may have to settle for a spot on the bench.  

Probable XIs

Netherlands (3-4-1-2): Noppert; Timber, van Dijk, Ake; Dumfries, De Roon, De Jong, Blind; Klaassen; Depay, Gakpo

Argentina (4-3-3): Martinez; Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Acuna; De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister; Alvarez, Messi, Gomez 

Key battle: Cody Gakpo vs Lionel Messi 

With both attacks doing well, Cody Gakpo against Lionel Messi could be an interesting matchup on both frontlines. Gakpo scored in all three group games and has three goals, level with Messi, with the Argentine ahead in terms of assists (1).

Both players have featured in every game for their nations, with the Netherlands starlet boasting the higher conversion rate (60.0%) against Messi (15.8%), but the Argentine does have more key passes (13) and has completed more dribbles (9). Both players will be causing headaches for their opposing defenses, both of which were breached in their respective round of 16 ties. 

Score Prediction: Netherlands 1-1 Argentina