LUSAIL, Qatar — It started with Lionel Messi delivering another soccer clinic. It ended with the Argentina superstar sporting a bloodied top lip, shouting abuse to opponents and even blasting the referee.
And of course there were goals, too, for one of the greats of the game whose bid to win the World Cup for the first time is still on track.
Messi is heading to the semifinals with Argentina after Friday’s penalty kick shootout victory over the Netherlands, a match that had just about everything.
Argentina took a 2-0 lead, conceded an equalizer in the 11th minute of second-half stoppage time to send it to extra time at 2-2, then won the shootout 4-3 amid deafening noise inside Lusail Stadium.
Messi got a goal on a penalty kick in regulation time, and he also converted in the shootout, when goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez made two saves to help Argentina secure a semifinal against Croatia, which beat Brazil earlier Friday, winning a shootout 4-2 after the match ended regulation scoreless and extra time tied at 1.