Our prediction for this World Cup 2026 match:
Lusail Iconic Stadium will host Friday’s World Cup classic between Netherlands and Argentina. The Oranje made it to the quarter-finals by beating USA 3-1, but it seems as if their results are much better than the performances. Louis van Gaal’s men face an uphill task against La Albiceleste, but they will surely give their best to get their revenge on Leo Messi and Co. for the loss at the 2014 World Cup finals. Van Gaal should have a full squad to choose from.
Meanwhile, Lionel Scaloni’s charges defeated Australia 2-1 in the last 16, with Leo Messi netting his third goal of the tournament. Anyhow, Argentina seem to be more of a team than the Netherlands, and we predict that the favourites are going to prove their worth on the field. Lautaro Martinez is pushing for a start, as well as Angel Di Maria, who has recovered in time to face the Oranje. Papu Gomez should miss out with injury.
Highlighted Player (Memphis Depay):
Memphis Depay is a Dutch winger who started his professional career at PSV Eindhoven. During the 2014/2015 Eredivisie campaign the pacey footballer was on Manchester United’s radar and on June 12, 2015 the Premier League club confirmed the signing of the Dutchman. Many people expected that he would impress in the 2015/2016 Premier League season, but the former PSV ace played below expectations for the Red Devils, scoring only two goals (one assist) during the season.
After playing only for league games for Man Utd in the 2016/2017 season, Memphis Depay was sold to Olympique Lyon on January 20, 2017. Depay signed a four-and-a-half year deal with les Gones for a fee of around £16 million. The Dutch winger was producing fine performances for Lyon in the 2016/2017 season; he scored five goals for the club, while providing eight assists for his teammates.
Memphis Depay made his senior debut for Netherlands on October 15, 2013 in a 2-0 win over Turkey. Depay did well to win the 2011 European Championship with Netherlands U17 team.
Highlighted Team (Argentina):
Members of the CONMEBOL confederation Argentina national team are headed by coach Gerardo Martino and are considered one of the most nations in footballing world. Renowned for their attacking powers and defensive discipline Argentina have been playing their international matches since 1901 and their first ever competitive victory over Uruguay 3-2.
Commonly referred to as La Seleccion, Argentina are top of the FIFA World ranking, but their most recent records have been below par with the team last winning a major trophy in 1993. Two-time World Cup winners have lost the 2014 final to Germany coming agonizingly close to the crown they last won in 1986. Javier Zanetti is the most capped player with 143 matches to his name while Javier Mascherano and Lionel Messi with 124 and 108 respectively are the current team members with most games to their name.
Barcelona star Lionel Messi is six goals short behind Gabriel Batistuta who is the team’s top scorer with 56 goals he scored playing for La Seleccion from 1991 to 2002.