Lionel Scaloni praised his Argentina team's "beautiful" penalty shootout victory over the Netherlands, but admitted his team was dragged into a "ugly game" by an aggressive Dutch team.
The coach made the remarks following an enthralling but extraordinarily bad-tempered game that saw one red card and 16 yellow cards, two of which came during a penalty shootout in which Dutch player Denzel Dumfries was sent off for taunting opponents. After Argentina won 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw, their players taunted the Dutch, and Lionel Messi exchanged words with Louis van Gaal and his assistant Edgar Davids.
"The game was heated," Scaloni admitted. "However, this was a quarter-final." And what happens on the field remains on the field. We had 11 men, of course. Leo [Messi] was a crucial player who demonstrated that he is the best of all time, and we are grateful that he is on our side."
Argentina's Leandro Paredes was also fortunate to receive only a yellow card for not only a bad foul on Nathan Aké, but also for smashing the ball at the Dutch bench, sparking a fractious shoving match between the two teams.
However, Scaloni claimed that the Netherlands was the instigator. When asked if they had played in an anti-football manner, he responded, "They played in a way I didn't expect from them." However, each team and coach decides how to play. I won't get into their football philosophy, but the game was ugly in the second half.
"We went through too much," he said. "It was a very difficult game." We lived it for the people on the pitch. And Diego Maradona is watching us from heaven, pushing us to the end."
Messi, who was also booked for arguing with the Spanish referee, Antonio Mateu Lahoz, was critical of the way the game was handled. "I felt a lot of rage," he admitted. "I don't want to talk about the referee because they will sanction you later, and you won't be able to say what you think because they will sanction you." Fifa must investigate."
Argentina is now the favourite to win their third World Cup, but Messi isn't getting carried away.
"Croatia is a tough opponent," he added. "They have great players, and they know what they're doing." They've had the same coach since the last World Cup, and it's a World Cup semi-final, so it'll be difficult."
