Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni has furiously defended his players against accusations of dirty tricks.
Holland were left furious after a bad tempered quarter final which saw:
- Lionel Messi accused of play acting to get Dutch forward Wout Weghorst sent off
- Argentina legend Walter Samuel, a member of Scaloni’s coaching staff, was booked for kicking the ball onto the pitch
- The game ended with 17 bookings after a brutal bad tempered clash
- Argentina players celebrated wildly after their penalty shoot-out win in front of the devastated Dutch players
- Referee Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz has been sent home amid accusations he lost control of the match
It has created a bitter backlash with Dutch players and coaching staff angrily turning on Argentina and has put Scaloni’s men under the spotlight before their semi final with Croatia.
But Scaloni has hit back and delivered a passionate defence and angry rant in the wake of their dramatic win to set up a return to the Lusail Stadium on Tuesday night.
Scaloni said: “Well, since you're asking about it, I just want to finish off with this topic. The previous game was played, you know, the way we had to play it.
“But from both teams - the Netherlands and Argentina. And that's football. In football, sometimes you have to defend and attack. And sometimes, you know, things can happen like the previous game. There can be arguments, more challenging times. But that's all. That's why there is a referee, to make justice.
"We need to just put an end to this idea of thinking Argentina is just that, and that we usually have that sort of behaviour. We lost to Saudi Arabia, we didn't say anything.
“We won the Copa in Brazil and we experienced the most sporting behaviour with Messi Parades, Neymar. They were all sitting together in that tunnel in the Maracana Stadium. So I'm really not convinced of this idea of unsporting behaviour.
“We need to show our pride and we just played the game the way we had to play it. And then there is a referee in charge of making decisions.
“And you know, things end the moment that the referee blows the final whistle. So with respect to all the teams, the Netherlands and Croatia, now on all the opponents we face, that's one of our main characteristics and features of our personality since the first game.
“We need to put an end to this idea of not being good winners or losers. That's very far from who we actually are as a team, as a squad and as the way we represent our nation.”
Argentina will be red-hot favourites to beat Croatia and potentially set up a glamorous final with France who face Morocco in the other semi. But Scaloni insists Argentina cannot take it for granted if they want to win the World Cup for a third time.
Scaloni added: “We expect a tough and it’s against a really good team. They are a really great team with great support and it will be a big challenge for us. All Argentinians are hopeful and ready for the challenge.”
