Argentina Opt For Defensive Martinez Ahead Of Attacking Gomez

Argentina switched their line-up to a more defensive formation for Friday’s World Cup quarterfinal against the Netherlands by putting Lisandro Martinez in the lineup and dropping Alejandro Gomez.

The inclusion of Martinez hints at a cautious approach from coach Lionel Scaloni, who was able to include Rodrigo De Paul after reports in the media, which the midfielder denied, that he had a muscle issue.

But veteran attacker Angel di Maria, who had been a doubt for the match, did not make the line-up for a second successive game, having started all of Argentina’s group encounters but missed the last-16 victory over Australia due to a left thigh injury.

Dutch coach Louis van Gaal sprung a surprise by starting with forward Steven Bergwijn and dropping midfielder Davy Klaassen, suggesting he will have a three-man attack led by Memphis Depay and Cody Gakpo, who has scored three goals at the tournament in Qatar.

Van Gaal kept Marten de Roon in midfield as the enforcer for playmaker Frenkie de Jong despite taking the Atalanta midfielder off at halftime in their last-16 victory over the US.

Teams:

Netherlands: Andries Noppert, Daley Blind, Nathan Ake, Virgil van Dijk (capt), Jurrien Timber, Denzel Dumfries, Marten de Roon, Steven Bergwijn, Frenkie de Jong, Cody Gakpo, Memphis Depay.

Argentina: Emiliano Martinez, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Otamendi, Nahuel Molina, Marcos Acuna, Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez, Julian Alvarez, Lionel Messi.