Former Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal cannot forget what happened in his country’s match against Argentina at the 2022 World Cup, and he believes that Lionel Messi’s teammates “stole” qualification and the title because of this match.
The match ended 2-2 after extra time, and Argentina, thanks to the brilliance of Emiliano Martinez, managed to qualify for the semi-finals and then won the title by defeating France in the Lusail final.
In a lengthy interview, Van Gaal recalled the Netherlands-Argentina match, saying, “I can show you videos that prove to you that the Netherlands were robbed by Argentina, the facts are clear to everyone.”
He added, “Is it normal for an opposing player to kick the ball at the Netherlands bench without receiving a red card? Don’t forget the penalty they got, they robbed us.”
It is worth mentioning that Messi argued with Van Gaal after the match, and there were many tensions between the two teams on and off the pitch, most notably when the Argentine captain called Wout Weghorst an “idiot” in front of the media.
At the same time, Van Gaal revealed that he received an offer from Bayern Munich to take over before Vincent Kompany, noting that he was very surprised by this move, but his health conditions made him apologize for not taking charge of the Bavarian club for a second term.
