Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni has defended his side’s behavior in the fiery quarter-final victory over the Netherlands as they turned their attention to Croatia on Tuesday for a place in the world Cup final.
Argentina beat the Netherlands 4-3 on penalties and they were quick to goad opponents Lionel Messi and goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez into publicly targeting Dutch manager Louis van Gaal. Referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz booked eight players from Argentina and six from the Netherlands, who had Denzel Dumfries sent off, and Fifa announced disciplinary proceedings against both federations for misconduct by players and officials in the bad-tempered confrontation.
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“The previous match was played as we were supposed to play it from both teams, the Netherlands and Argentina, and that’s football,” Scaloni said. “In football sometimes you have to defend, attack and some games, you know, things can go like the previous game.
“There may be arguments, more difficult moments, but that’s it. This is why there is an arbiter to render justice. And we just have to put a stop to this idea of, you know, thinking that Argentina is just that and we usually have that kind of behavior.
“We lost against Saudi Arabia, we didn’t say anything. We won the Copa America in Brazil and we had the most sporting behavior with Messi, [Leonardo] Paredes and Neymar. They were all sitting together in this tunnel of this Maracanã stadium, so I’m really not convinced by this idea of unsportsmanlike behavior.
“We have to show our pride and we just played the game the way we had to play it. And then there is a referee responsible for making decisions. Things end when the referee blows the final whistle. So we respect all the teams, the Netherlands, Croatia now and all the opponents we face. It’s been one of our main features and personality traits since the first game.
“We have to put an end to this idea that we are not good winners or losers – it is very far from who we really are as a team, as a team and as the way we represent this nation.”
Messi is on course for a record 25th World Cup on Tuesday, equaling Germany’s Lothar Matthäus.
Nicolás Tagliafico is set to replace suspended left-back Javier Acuna. Gonzalo Montiel, who came on as a substitute against the Netherlands, is also suspended.
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