LiveBlog: Argentina-Netherlands

A not very exciting game in the end after we’ve been looking forward to the fixture since the draw was announced late last year. Both teams seemed content to battle out a draw with second team players. Argentina tops the group with 7 points and get the reward of facing Mexico. The Netherlands will no doubt look sharper against Portugal with their regular starters in the line-up.

Final: Argentina 0-0 Netherlands

Full-time: This was a game fo rthe fans. Neither team showed much attacking ambition. They did enough to get the result, Argentina might have just shaded the best chances. Van der Saar had to do the most work.

91:43 – Tevez with another half chance at the other end. If any player has deserved a goal today, he is it. He’s been very busy all night and caused all sorts of problems, just never got a clear sight of goal tonight.

91:00 – Dutch corner results in a header ballooning over the bar from 16 yards. Argentine fans in good voice. They’ve qualified first from this group. Well done to them.

89:42 – Marachino Cherry gets a booking for a stupid challenge that wasn’t malicious, but raked the back of the Dutch player’s leg. 2 minutes of injury time. Why?

88:30 – Dutch have dominated possession the last few minutes but hve not been able to create clear chances. They’ve won a corner though.

86:44 – More Elephant Dancing going on over in Munich. We’ve got Dung Beetle Foxtrot in Frankfurt.

84:47 – Van der Vaart’s shot is nice looking with nice pace but safely wide. Penalty for Ivory Coast in the other game. How come they get all the goals and we get this?

83:44 – One-two between van der Vaart and Kuyt could have been something but foul by the Argentine’s. Free kick in a good area.

81:32 – Van der Vaart penalized for backing in while challenging for a ball in the Argentine box. About as much activity we’ve seen in the box all game.

79:15 – Riquelme out for Aimar. About time. I’ve been waiting to see this guy play since all the things I’ve been hearig about him on the Argentina blog. Let’s see what he can do with 10 mins remaining.

78:08 – Shot of the crowd with a cardboard cut-out of Klinsmann wearing an Argentine jersey. Not sure why they’d want Klinsie, unless they admire his diving ability, which is a realistic thought.

76:10 – Wide sweeping ball to the Argentine left wing. Moment of excitement with a nice looking cross but no Argentine’s attacking the ball in the box.

74:52 – Ref’s had a good game. Been largely invisible, not that these teams have had much in the way of aggression on the ball.

73:12 – Tevez wakes the crowd up with a nice shot, well saved by an outstretched van der Saar. That guy has awesome reach. I don’t want to face him in penalties.

71:40 – Shot by Kuyt from long distance. The crowd doesn’t even register an ‘oooohhhhhh’. Think they’re happy banging on drums and blowing whistles rather than watching the action on the pitch. I don’t even think Maradona has stuck around to watch the end of this one. I’ve heard the nightlife in Frankfurt is pretty decent

70:55 – Nothing exciting to report.

68:46 – Messi coming off and Julio Cruz coming on for Argentina. Not a bad display by the youngster, but nothing to make me think he should start against Mexico. He’s still an impact bench player for me.

66:59 – Van Persie off for Danny Lanzaart. Let’s hope he’s got some running in him. Ivory Coast has broken the 2-1 curse and equalized. They did the Elephant Dance. I want to see the Elephant Dance in this game. Goal anyone?

66:23 – Shot by Cocu at the other end just wide from 6 yards and an acute angle. Van der Vaart was hammered in the box by the big-haired Argentine.

65:00 – Tevez with a half chance at the penalty spot. An attempted bicycle kick that doesn’t quite make a clean connection. Crowd calls for a foul by Cocu.

64:24 – Riquelme tries to take matters into his own hands and takes on 3 Dutch defenders in the box. He somehow manages to keep the ball but eventually goes nowhere.

62:34 – de Cler with a passable impersonation of Robben down the left wing. Burns his man and gets a cross in. His quality of crossing did not match his move on the big haired Argentine defender out there.

61:10 – Cambiasso hurt after a run in with van Persie. It was Cambie in the tackle, but looks like he took a knock to the knee. Those can be painful, but I don’t think he twisted anything or suffereed any lasting damage.

60:25 – Another rare Dutch forward movement. Another bad cross that passes harmlessly into touch.

58:43 – Close up of Messi with the ball. Almost guaranteed he’ll beat one defender one-on-one. The Dutch have had two players near him all night. Maybe when Messi gets good he’ll be able to beat two players Kidding, kidding.

56:47 – Cambiasso gets a yellow card. Looks like it might have been for dissent as it wasn’t him that committed the foul. Dutch free kick from a long way out, but they shape to shoot. Miscue from van der Vaart.

55:35 – Nistelrooy coming off, Babel on for the Dutch. Ruud has been ineffectual tonight. No good service from the wings for him to sink his boots into.

53:51 – Tevez gets a small break and releases Maxi-Priest. His touchtakes him slighty too wide and by the time he worked his way back inside the Dutch had regrouped and his shot was well over the bar.

52:27 – Nice interchange with Riquelme and Messi leds to a shot by the former which just skews wide. A snippet of the Argentina we wanted to see tonight. Crowd entertaining themselves tonight.

51:06 – Rare sight of a Dutchman flying into the Argentine penalty area. Van der Vaart was the player but the pass was too strong.

50:00 – Bulldog Tevez keeps possession nicely, baffling 3 Dutch tacklers. Too bad it was in his defensive third of the park.

47:48 – de Cler earns a yellow card after thumping Maxi-Priest in the head with a forearm.

46:40 – Replay shows van Basten can still catch a ball. Wouldn’t we all like to see a strike like his winner in the final of Euro ‘88. Meanwhile van Persie can’t hit the target from a free kick.

45:08 – Second half underway. Early shot from Marachoino Cherry but skies it way over.

Half-time highlights: Fair number of almost chances for Argentina, but nothing clear cut. The Dutch really should have had a penalty, but otherwise no chances for them.

Half-time: No team dominating. No team really making chances. Even though both teams have benched regular starters for this game, the attacking flair we’ve come to expect from these teams has been decidedly lacking. Are they both playing for the draw already? That suits Argentina more than Holland.

44:56 – Messi has a nice shot, easily saved by Van der Saar.

44:42 – Just spent a few minutes watching the craziness of the other game. Penalties and free kicks and injuries and yellow cards and red cards galore. Unlike this borefest. I missed nothing.

41:57 – Yellow card of Ooijer. What a weird name to type. His lunge on Riquelme was poorly timed and nasty looking. Of course, Riquelme’s theatrics helped.

40:40 – Much better hair display by the Argentine team today. Much more what we’re used to from the Latin masters of the headband.

37:44 – Still no goals and neither team looks like they’re trying really hard. Either that or both defenses are awesome.

36:35 – Ivory Coast has pulled one back. 2-1 to S&M in a very strange game going on over there. Weird things are happening all over the place. Very unlike this game.

33:57 – Wesley Snipes (Sneijder) has a shot for the Dutch. It looked like it might have been a screamer but blocked on the 18 yard box.

32:03 – Game being battled out in midfield. Messi has not had the ball at his feet much with the opportunity to show us what he’s got. Maxi-pad breaks into the area but shoots wide from 6 yards and an acute angle. Dutch defender was right on his hammer though.

30:10 – Dutch will want to assert themselves more here. Can’t let the Argentine’s take pot shots all night cos they don’t waste many chances. The Dutch are missing the incisive runs of Robben out there. Kuyt may also be playing out of position.

28:41 – Riquelme’s delivery has been spot on. He’s the master from the dead ball situation. Maxi Rodriguez has a shot and just blasts wide. Van der Saar may have had it covered but it was a wicked drive from just outside the area.

27:02 – Kuyt earns the game’s first yellow with a professional foul after Tevez skinned him for pace. The contact was soft but the foul was there. Tevez’s pace causing problems.

25:56 – Tevez earns a corner much the same way Kuyt did at the other end. Riquelme’s corner has some wicked bend and Van der Saar has to tip it over the bar.

24:41 – van Persie hacks down an Argentine in a mis-timed tackle. Lucky to escape a card fo rthat one.

22:53 – Possession stat shows the Dutch have controlled the ball for 65% of the time so far. They certainly have not seemed so dominant. Sub for Argentina: Coloccini on for the injured Burdesso who picked up a knock to the groin during the corner scuffle that could have been a Dutch pen.

21:17 – Argentine captain Ayala remonstrates with the ref after a soft foul while jumping with the ball.

18:50 – Someone has to teach Tevez how to shave. When it bleeds, mate, leave it be. Did Cocu gets lots of Dumbo jokes when he was a kid?

17:45 – Maxi Rodriguez bursts up the middle but gets tackled just short of the 18 yard box. Dutch defence looking solid and organized.

16:53 – Kuyt steals the ball from a lazy Argentine defender but his shot from 14 yards and a tight angle is turned away by El Pato.

15:55 – Tevez has a shot from the edge of the area. Goes wide, but Argentina starting to pick their passes.

11:49 – No Sorin for Argentina in defence today. Lots of man-handling in the Argentine penalty area before a Dutch corner. Replay shows the Argentine defender Milito was raping the Dutch player. Should have been a penalty for that crap.

10:30 – No goals here, but S&M just scored against Cote d’Ivoire. Not that anyone really cares if you’re waching this game.

08:55 – Argentina spending more time in the Dutch half now. Messi is coming deep for the ball, which is leaving Tevez isolated, but the midfield runs of Cambiasso are helping.

07:39 – Cambiasso released by Messi with a great pass. Strong tackle in the Dutch area well timed and danger is cleared for a corner. Sharp chance created out of not much.

06:11 – Nistelrooy gets a hack in the box. Could have been a penalty, and might have been a foul if outside the area. Referee could have been unsighted. His extra dive to the ground after might have influenced the man in yellow.

04:36 – Shot of Tevez. Man, he’s a scary lookin’ dude. Tevez looked like he shaved with a garotting wire today.

02:50 – What a difference a goal makes. Cambiasso makes another start today. Dutch having the most of the possession in the early minutes. Argentina unable to get their foot on the ball.

01:02 – Dutch with a slightly different look at the bad. A few players with cards getting rested, van Bommel amongst them. Be a good test for the depth of the Dutch squad. Their defense has looked sharp, but they haven’t faced Argentina yet.

00:01 We’re off! Let’s hope for a great game even if the result does not matter all that much. Argentina going with the different line-up up front. A full game for Messi and Tevez, which we’ve all wanted to see for some time anyway. Thanks to Pekerman for that. Riquelme starts which is too bad for Aimar.

3 minute countdown: Van der Saar is really, really tall. He’s towering over not only his escort kid, but everyone else in the tunnel. Great match-ups between these teams in the past. Holland with the slight edge. Argentina heavily favoured today, but are they as good as six goals suggest. Will they actually create some chances that they don’t score from?

5 minute countdown: Who would you rather face Portugal or Mexico in the next round if you’re Dutch or Argentinian? The winner of this game gets the ‘lesser’ Mexico, but still a tough game. First Maradona sighting, seen hugging Michel Platini.

13 minute countdown: The Dutch are warming up in their white kits. Looks like warm-up kits. Argentina is in their white warm-up kits, with black shorts – maybe the Argentina will wear their blue shirts.

15 minute countdown: Bob is next to me doing the Ivory Coast versus Serbia and Montenegro game. We are watching both games on 2 screens – of course, I am focusing on this game. Are you watching both games? My prediction is 2-all draw.

18 minute countdown: Is Argentina as strong as folks are saying? 6 – 0 is quite an impressive showing. So many weapons and they play like a unit, instead of a bunch of individual stars. The Dutch – total football – reinvented?

20 minute countdown: Should be, could be a cracker tonight. Too bad both these teams are already through to the 2nd round. Doesn’t mean quite as much because of this. Get ready for more games like this…win or you are out 4 days from now. Can’t wait.

25 minute countdown: Sorry about having Drobga’s picture on underneath the Argentina photo in the preview. Oops – they would be even more deadly with him, but unfortunately Pekerman doesn’t have the choice of picking him.

Pregame: Who’s going to win?

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