Argentina reaches World Cup final after penalties: SAO PAULO (AP) -- The World Cups second semifinal was supposed to put the silky skills of Lionel #Messi and Arjen #Robben in the spotlight. Instead, a goalkeeper and two rock-solid defenses stole the show. Messi, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, will have to do play far better in Sundays final at Rio de Janeiros Maracana Stadium if he is to engineer a win over the powerful German team. The #Barcelona star was muted throughout the match and extra time, rarely managing to shake off his markers. Romero - thought to be a weak link for Argentina and not even a starter for his Monaco club most of last season - had almost nothing to do during the match, but blocked penalties by Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder in the shootout. For #Argentina, Messi, Ezequiel Garay, Sergio Aguero and Maxi Rodriguez all converted their spot kicks. A Germany-Argentina final means an extra bitter end to the tournament for Brazilians, who will have to watch their fiercest rivals play for the world title in their most hallowed stadium against a team that humiliated their nation in the semifinals. Argentina reached its fifth final, and its first in 24 years. It won the title in 1978 - beating the Dutch - and in 1986. It lost the championship matches in 1930 and 1990. It played West Germany in both the 86 and 90 finals.(Best of Luck Argentina & Germany-shopprice.au)
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 03:49:04 +0000
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