Dutch striker: 'At least Messi knows my name'
"Messi is one of the best players of all time," Weghorst told En Son Haber on December 22. "After the quarter-final, I wanted to show him respect, but it wasn't very clear. Anyway, at least he knows my name."
In the quarter-finals between the Netherlands and Argentina, the two sides often joked and fouled each other. The referee must issue 17 yellow cards and one red card to punish players as well as members of the coaching staff of the two teams.
According to AS, after the match Weghorst wanted to meet to shake Messi's hand. However, the Argentina captain did not realize this and reacted angrily. "What are you looking at, wink? Go away, idiot," Messi said towards Weghorst during a TV interview.
According to some members of the Argentina team, Weghorst approached Messi with an insolent attitude. This also led to the negative reaction of the Argentina captain. Lautaro Martinez then asked Weghorst to leave.
In the quarter-finals, Argentina led 2-0 to 82 minutes. Molina opened the scoring in the 35th minute and Messi doubled the lead in the 73rd minute. From 83 to 90 minutes, Weghorst shortened and leveled the gap for Ha. Lan. In the penalty shootout, Argentina won 4-3. Goalkeeper Martinez pushed two goals from Van Dijk and Berghuis, while Argentina only missed one from Enzo Fernandez.
During extra time and the penalty shootout process, the players on both sides constantly interacted with each other. When Lautaro Martinez had just successfully shot the decisive goal, some Argentine players deliberately ran out to mock the Dutch players.
The quarter-final is a boost for Argentina to play more confidently in the remaining journey. In the semi-finals, they crushed Croatia 3-0. By the final, they drew France 3-3 in 120 minutes and won 4-2 in the penalty shootout. Argentina won the World Cup for the third time, after twice taking place in 1978 and 1986. Meanwhile, the Netherlands still stopped at three finals in 1974, 1978 and 2010.
With his success in the World Cup, Messi has completed his collection of trophies. Before that, the Argentina captain had 10 La Liga, one Ligue 1, four Champions Leagues, seven Golden Balls, one Copa America and one Intercontinental Super Cup.
Weghorst currently plays for Besiktas club, Turkey. In the National Cup on December 21, this 30-year-old striker scored to help Besiktas beat Sanliurfaspor 4-2. Weghorst played for AZ, Wolfsburg, and scored five goals in 19 games for the Netherlands.
