Messi runs towards Argentina goalkeeper, fights break out at other end after winning penalty vs Netherlands, video viral

A whopping 16 yellow cards and one red card was shown in a sensationally dramatic and ill-tempered quarter-final between Argentina and the Netherlands, at the end of which the former won 4-3 on penalties. Argentina had a 2-0 lead, which they got to thanks to a goal from Nahuel Molina in the first half that was made and put on a plate by their captain Lionel Messi before the latter converted a penalty in the second half. But they squandered it in the dying stages of normal time, with the Netherlands scoring the equaliser through a cheeky free-kick routine in the last seconds of added time.

The penalty shootout after extra-time was also a see-saw affair, at the end of which Argentina won 4-3. While the rest of his teammates ran towards Lautaro Martinez, who had taken the winning penalty kick, Messi could be seen running towards goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who had made two sensational saves in the beginning of the shootout to put Argentina in front.

Tempers flared on a number of occasions throughout the match and it all seemed to boil over at that moment as well as Netherlands players could be seen clashing with the Argentinians at the other end while Messi was first celebrating with his goalkeeper, and then with the fans before running to the rest of his teammates. The fracas ended with Netherlands’ Denzel Dumfries being shown a red card.

The first real flare-up in the match came in the 89th minute of regulation time when Argentian where 2-1 ahead. It happened when Argentina’s Leandro Paredes slided in dangerously for a tackle on Nathan Ake near the Netherlands dugout. He then proceeded to kick the ball into the dugout, leading to to the Dutch bench pouring out and charging towards him.

Netherlands captain Virgil Van Dijk also slammed into Paredes in the ensuing chaos, leading to the Paris St Germain midfielder being thrown to the ground. There was then a coming together between the two sides after that almost every time the referee blew the whistle for full time or the end each half of extra-time.