Qatar 2022: Van Gaal not anticipating Netherlands-Argentina classic as World Cup ‘starts for real’

The
quarter-final
at
Lusail
Stadium
will
be
the
sixth
finals
meeting
between
the
two
sides.

Those
previous
clashes
include
a
dominant
Netherlands
win
in
1974,
a
controversial
1978
final
and
Dennis
Bergkamp’s
memorable
winner
at
this
stage
in
1998.

Most
recently,
however,
Van
Gaal’s
Netherlands
and
Argentina
played
out
a
goalless
draw
in
the
semi-finals
eight
years
ago,
with
La
Albiceleste
advancing
on
penalties.

Speaking
at
a
pre-match
news
conference
on
Thursday,
Van
Gaal
appeared
to
suggest
a
similarly
tight
affair
was
likely
this
time.

Explaining
his
“new
vision”,
the
Oranje
coach
had
“a
very
attacking
DNA”
at
Ajax
in
the
1990s
but
learnt
at
Barcelona
“you
can’t
always
pursue
that
goal”.

“It
is
much
more
difficult
to
play
as
offensively
as
Ajax
used
to
play,”
Van
Gaal
added
as
he
again
faced
criticism
for
the
Netherlands’ style
of
play.
“If
you
fail
to
see
that,
it
is
very
difficult
to
understand
this
is
the
way
things
go.

“When,
in
2014,
I
started
developing
the
more
defensive
system,
people
criticised
me.
Now,
half
the
world
is
playing
that
kind
of
football.
Football
has
evolved
in
that
direction.”

6
–
On
Friday,
Netherlands
and
Argentina
will
meet
for
the
6th
time
in
the
World
Cup.
There’s
only
two
matches
played
more
often
in
the
competition
history:

(7
times)
(7
times)

Classic.

pic.twitter.com/21ia5J7AGd

—
OptaJose
(@OptaJose)

December
7,
2022

Asked
how
this
latest
episode
in
the
Netherlands-Argentina
rivalry
might
compare,
the
coach
said:
“I’ve
just
provided
you
with
a
wonderful
answer
to
your
question:
football
is
no
longer
being
played
as
in
1988
or
1974
or
whatever.

“Then
it
was
an
open
game,
which
it
no
longer
is.
You
can
have
all
sorts
of
opinions
about
that,
but
this
is
simply
the
way
football
has
evolved.

“It
is
always
possible
to
have
decisive
moments
that
you
remember
years
afterwards,
like
Bergkamp’s
goal,
so
undoubtedly
we
will
continue
to
remember
this
forever.”

Memphis
Depay,
appearing
alongside
Van
Gaal,
is
of
a
similar
view,
saying:
“The
game
is
going
to
be
decided
in
moments.

“I
believe
we
can
catch
a
moment
and
go
through.
We
obviously
want
to
play
a
good
game,
but
there’s
also
going
to
be
a
tactical
game,
I
think.”

Van
Gaal
is
unlikely
to
shift
away
from
that
“defensive
system” now
as
the
Netherlands
prepare
for
a
step
up
in
quality.

“Argentina
in
my
view
are
a
top
country
with
top
football
players
in
their
squad,”
Van
Gaal
said.
“The
tournament
actually
is
starting
tomorrow
for
real
for
us.

“Of
course,
I
don’t
want
to
downplay
the
importance
of
other
countries
we’ve
been
able
to
beat,
but
Argentina
and
possibly
Brazil
in
the
next
round
are
quite
different
from
the
countries
we’ve
played
in
the
groups
and
in
the
last
16.”