"I feel disrespected by Van Gaal" - Argentina captain Lionel Messi slams Dutch manager and hits back after winning on penalties 

Argentina captain Lionel Messi has hit out at the Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal after beating them on penalties in the FIFA World Cup quarter-final clash on Friday, December 9.

La Albiceleste have made their way to the semi-finals courtesy of a 4-3 win in the shootout after the game ended 2-2 after 120 minutes.

Following the game, Argentina skipper Lionel Messi blasted the Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal for being disrespectful towards the South Americans.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner claimed that Van Gaal's pre-game comments were inappropriate while also hitting out at Dutch players. Lionel Messi said:

"I feel disrespected by Van Gaal after his pregame comments and some Dutch players spoke too much during the game."

ESPN FC

@ESPNFC

Messi wasn't impressed with the referee tonight 🤐

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Messi wasn't impressed with the referee tonight 🤐 https://t.co/vfTm3wMNYs

Argentina hero Emiliano Martinez also slammed Van Gaal for his choice of words and has advised him to keep his mouth shut. The Aston Villa keeper, who denied Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis from the spot, told reporters:

"I heard Van Gaal saying 'we've got an advantage on penalties if we go to penalties we win. I think he needs to keep his mouth shut."

Argentina looked on course to comfortably secure their place in the semi-finals as they led the Netherlands 2-0 after 73 minutes.

Lionel Messi produced his magic to set up Nahuel Molina for the first goal before doubling the lead from the spot. However, Dutch substitute Wout Weghorst completely changed the game after coming on from the bench and scoring two late goals.

Lionel Scaloni's side eventually emerged as the winners in the shootout after 120 minutes. Martinez was the hero for La Albiceleste, stopping penalties from Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis.

Argentina will face Croatia in the semi-final on Tuesday, December 13, who defeated Brazil on penalties to secure their place in the last four.

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Lionel Messi shuts down Antonio Mateu Lahoz after Argentina's quarter-final victory against the Netherlands

Argentina captain Lionel Messi hit out at referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz after his team's win against the Netherlands in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Lahoz showed a total of 17 yellow cards during the game, out of which 13 were for arguing with the officials.

Marten de Roon

@Dirono

When I was a kid I heard my dad talk about the nightmare of Argentina. The World Cup back in ‘78. In my time as a footballer, Messi was the dream of every player. Today, I played against the dream that became a nightmare. Congrats to Argentina, but I’m so damn proud of this squad

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When I was a kid I heard my dad talk about the nightmare of Argentina. The World Cup back in ‘78. In my time as a footballer, Messi was the dream of every player. Today, I played against the dream that became a nightmare. Congrats to Argentina, but I’m so damn proud of this squad https://t.co/SNOplvLMsy

Messi slammed the Spanish referee following the game and said:

"I don’t want to speak about referees because after they will sanction you. But people saw what happened. I think FIFA must take care of this.

"It cannot put a referee like that for a match of such magnitude, of such importance. The referee cannot fail to be up to the task."

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