Argentina vs. Netherlands: How the Dutch Can Stop Messi

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: July 8, 2014

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After the Netherlands narrowly escaped with a penalty shootout win in their matchup against Costa Rica, they will look ahead to Argentina, where they will need to find a way to stop Lionel Messi if they want to advance to the World Cup final on Sunday.

Messi, who is widely regarded as one of the world’s most prolific players, won’t be easy to contain, but the Dutch have a slew of weapons at their disposal, most notably in superstar Arjen Robben.

With the World Cup trophy on the line, the Dutch will need to do everything in their power to stop Messi—and with enough talent and a bit of luck, they just may be able to do so.

The Netherlands’ first plan will be to “cut the supply line to Messi,” defender Bruno Martins Indi told Dutch website nu.nl, according to Fox News (via the Associated Press).

In order to stifle Messi’s ability, the Dutch will need to play tough and consistent defense to keep the ball away from the Argentine forward. This was considered a weak point coming into the World Cup, but the team has shown that it can hang tough when it needs to.

Their challenge will be actually being able to accomplish this, which they will need to do by playing more physically against him and limiting his time with the ball.

Take a look at the following video to see all of Messi’s World Cup goals thus far. Especially impressive is his shot featured at 42 seconds—the man makes it look too easy.



Messi has earned himself an average of 9.41 on FIFA.com’s Castrol Index. While Messi finds himself coming in as the fourth ranked forward, the Netherlands’ Robben has a slightly higher average score of 9.59.

Wednesday’s matchup should prove to be one of the most exciting games of the competition, as both Robben and Messi are known for being two of the world’s most aggressive forwards, with Messi havi...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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