WATCH: Van Dijk FLATTENS him! Argentina star Paredes nearly starts a riot by booting ball into Netherlands bench during World Cup quarter-final
- Paredes slides through marauding Ake
- Smashes ball into the Dutch bench
- Van Dijk charges forward and sends him tumbling
WHAT HAPPENED? With the score at 2-1, the last thing Argentina wanted to do was to ignite the spark in the Dutch players. However, that's exactly what Paredes did as he hammered a dead ball directly into the Netherlands bench, sparking handbags that involved most players and staff.
Well... that escalated quickly! 😳#BBCFootball #BBCWorldCup pic.twitter.com/k2t1Or95gz
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 9, 2022
Van Dijk came in HOT. 😳#FIFAWorldCup
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) December 9, 2022
(via @TelemundoSports)pic.twitter.com/h8CrWJu3j0
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The Dutch kept their heads and found an unlikely equaliser via an innovative free-kick that was finished off by Wout Weghorst, a minute shy of the 100-minute mark in normal time. The teams weren't done there though as they clashed again after the final whistle with Argentina unhappy that the referee awarded the free-kick that led to the equaliser.
WHAT NEXT FOR ARGENTINA AND THE NETHERLANDS? Extra-time is needed to separate the two after Argentina failed to hold their two-goal lead. The winner of their feisty quarter-final tie will go into face Croatia after their win over Brazil earlier in the day.