Former Tottenham midfielder Rafael van de Vaart believes the Dutch will secure a 3-0 victory and progress to the semi-finals.
The two nations will face each other on Friday, 9 December, and both will come into the game full of confidence. The Dutch cruised to a 3-1 victory over the USA in their last match whilst Lionel Messi helped Argentina secure a 2-1 victory over Australia.
Many fans believe Messi is destined to finally win the World Cup in what is likely to be his final appearance in the competition, but, Van de Vaart sees that dream evaporating at the hands of Louis van Gaal and his side.
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Rafael van der Vaart: “Messi has shown up again this tournament, but his teammates are not that great. I expect it to end 3-0 for the Netherlands.” 🇦🇷🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/DEGd2QAMKJ
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) December 9, 2022
It is true that Argentina have been far from perfect, with the side already losing to Saudi Arabia and struggling against a buoyed Australian team. However, Lionel Messi is firing and when that is the case, the arguably greatest player of all time can achieve anything.
If the Netherlands can keep Messi and his mates quiet for the full 90 minutes, then it would be a truly impressive performance, although, it is incredibly difficult to imagine them doing so. Regardless of what happens, it is going to be a fascinating game.