Qatar (AP) — It started with Lionel Messi delivering another soccer clinic. It ended with the Argentina superstar sporting a bloodied top lip, shouting abuse to opponents and even blasting the referee.
And of course there were goals, too, for one of the greats of the game whose bid to win the World Cup for the first time is still on track.
Messi is heading to the semifinals with Argentina after a penalty-shootout victory over Netherlands that had just about everything on Friday.
Argentina took a 2-0 lead, conceded an equalizer in the 11th minute of second-half stoppage time to send the match to extra time at 2-2, and then won the shootout 4-3 amid a deafening noise inside Lusail Stadium.
Messi, who scored a penalty in regulation time, converted his penalty in the shootout while goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez made two saves to help Argentina secure a semifinal match against Croatia, which beat Brazil earlier Friday. After Lautaro Martinez scored the clinching penalty, Messi — with his arms outstretched — sprinted to jump into the arms of his goalkeeper.
“We had to suffer,” Messi said. “But we got through.”
Messi did, especially, in an often violent match that featured 17 yellow cards — a record for a World Cup match — two of which went to Netherlands defender Denzel Dumfries as he was sent off after the game. Messi was critical of the Spanish referee, Antonio Mateu, saying: “I don’t think he was up to the standard. He was very harmful for us.”
And, in a side of Messi rarely seen, he broke off from his post-match interview on the field to shout abuse at the scorer of the Netherlands’ two goals, Wout Weghorst.
“What are you looking at, stupid?” Messi was heard saying.
Messi and his teammates hung around on the field for 20 minutes at the end, taking turns dancing and jumping up and down in front of Argentina’s celebrating, scarf-waving fans.
Messi said the late Diego Maradona was looking over the team.
“Diego is watching us from heaven,” Messi said the former Argentina captain and coach who died two years ago. “He is pushing us. I hope it stays like that until the end.”
It is only the second time Argentina has reached the last four since 1990. In 2014, Messi was part of the team that lost to Germany in the final and he looks in the mood to get there again in a tournament that he is turning into his own personal highlight reel.
