Netherlands battles Argentina for a spot in the 2022 FIFA World Cup semifinals on Friday.
Netherlands and Argentina had to overcome the US and Australia respectively in the Round of 16, and both experienced scares along the way,
Netherlands head coach Louis van Gaal has seemingly settled a lineup now that Memphis Depay is fit and firing. Davy Klaassen and Marten de Roon started the last two games in central midfield, doing a magnificent job.
Argentina’s focus will be getting Angel Di Maria fit after he had to to miss the game against Australia.
Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni would like to have Angel Di Maria back so he replaces Papu Gomez and completes his attack, with Lionel and Julian Alvarez.
The player to watch in this game is Lionel Messi, who has seven goal and 10 assists in 13 Ligue 1 games with Paris Saint-Germain this season. AccuScore gives Lionel Messi a 41.9 percent chance to score against Netherlands. He has 82 SCA and 20 GCA in 13 Ligue 1 games with Paris Saint-Germain this season.
FBRef defines SCA as “the two offensive actions leading directly to a shot, such as passes, dribbles and drawing fouls.” GCA is “the two offensive actions leading directly to a goal, such as passes, dribbles and drawing fouls.” Let’s take a closer look at where the value is at in this matchup.
DafaNews Picks
Team to Win (Regular Time)
• Netherlands 3.50
• Argentina 2.21
• Draw 3.20
Spread
• Netherlands 0, +0.5 (1.94)
• Argentina 0, -0.5 (1.87)
Total
• Over 2 (1.78)
• Under 2 (2.05)
Key Points to Consider
Head-to-Head: These two teams last met in FIFA World Cup action on July 9, 2014 and the game ended in a 0-0 draw.
Projected Leaders
For Netherlands, Cody Gakpo has a 26.8 percent chance to score. He averages 1.19 shots overall per sim, 0.61 shots on goal per and 0.31 goals per sim.
For Argentina, Lionel Messi has a 41.9 percent chance to net the ball. He averages 2.9 shots overall per sim, 1.73 shots on goal per and 0.53 goals per sim.
Analyst’s Pick
Neither team has been tested until this moment, and both haven’t reached their full potential.
Argentina has a slight edge when it comes to talent, but this is a coin toss. The game will be close and have at least two goals.
Over 2 (1.78)
Two-star (out of four) AccuScore hot trend pick on Portugal in this one. Average score in simulations is Argentina 1.62 to Netherlands 0.93.
