Argentina will meet Germany in Sundays World Cup final at the Maracana after winning a penalty shootout to eliminate the Netherlands. After 120 tedious and goalless minutes that were in stark contrast to the spectacular shock of the first semi-final between Brazil and the Germans,Argentina prevailed and a repeat of the 1986 and 1990 finals - when they played West Germany - will be played out in Rio. Goalkeeper Sergio Romero was the hero with penalty saves from Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder, while opposite number Jasper Cillessen was unable to repeat the feats of his deputy, Tim Krul,in the quarter-final win against Costa Rica. Romero saved two penalties to help Argentina win their fourth World Cup shootout in five attempts And for Brazil, a nation still coming to terms with their worst defeat after being crushed 7-1 by Germany in Belo Horizonte, there is arguably the even more harrowing prospect of seeing fierce rivals Argentina lift the World Cup in the iconic surroundings of the Maracana. Germany will be favourites given the manner in which they destroyed Brazil but there is a streak of steel running through Alejandro Sabellas side that offers resilience beyond the genius of Lionel Messi. Dutch coach Louis van Gaal - who will now complete the formalities by guiding his side in Saturdays third/fourth place play-off before taking over at Manchester United - employed first the returning Nigel de Jong, then Jordy Clasie, to shadow Messi.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 03:07:40 +0000
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