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Originally Posted by demonrail666
I really enjoyed it. Very cautious, especially from Holland but in the end Messi was as shut out as Robben. Mascherano had a monster game. Definitely man of the match. Neither team were brilliant but I think Argentina just about edged it overall.
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Mascherano man of the match can't be denied especially after playing final 10 minutes with gauze hanging out of his mouth..
I think the Dutch played a bit better, their attacks were more threatening and they seemed to have better ball movement and control, as well as a few more exciting clearances on the defensive side BUT the Argentinians played better where it counted. It seemed both teams learned from Brazil's mistakes yesterday and controlled the spacing better so that effectively both teams attack was neutralized however that being said, I still feel like the offsides was killing it. Part of that is teams playing a bit to fast on their attacks to try and counter the defenses and open up space though to be sure many were just sloppy plays.. Still, the side refs really had a big impact on this match. Dutch used all their goal keeping magic in their last shootouts, it was inevitable that if they didn't score in the match they'd lose when it came to kicks, you could feel it growing as Holland sped up its aggression in the final 40 minutes..