On Friday night, the Netherlands will take the field against Argentina in their World Cup quarterfinal.
Argentina, the Netherlands’ most frequent opponent throughout the history of the tournament, and this will be their sixth World Cup meeting. The last goal scored in this matchup at the World Cup was Dennis Bergkamp’s mesmerising 90th-minute winner in the 1998 quarterfinal before consecutive 0-0 draws in 2006 and 2014.
Here is the starting lineup Louis van Gaal might use against well-known opponents.
Netherlands predicted lineup vs Argentina (3-4-1-2)
GK: Andries Noppert
CB: Jurrien Timber, Virgil van Dijk, Nathan Ake
RWB: Denzel Dumfries
CM: Frenkie de Jong, Marten de Roon
LWB: Daley Blind
AM: Davy Klaassen
ST: Cody Gakpo, Memphis Depay
Here’s the tweaked XI Scaloni may deploy against the Dutch.
Argentina predicted lineup vs Netherlands (3-5-2)
GK: Emi Martinez
CB: Cristian Romero, Nicolas Otamendi, Lisandro Martinez
RWB: Nahuel Molina
CM: Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister
LWB: Marcos Acuna
ST: Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez