In an attempt to get the Orange to play football a bit more, Van Gaal made a double substitution at halftime. Bergwijn and Marten de Roon had to make way for Steven Berghuis and Teun Koopmeiners. That didn't change the game image much. The Netherlands was allowed to have the ball from Argentina, but the Orange team did nothing in the enemy penalty area. The offensive powerlessness of the Orange in this phase of the match was painful to watch. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez could have brought a folding chair with him, so little was he put to the test.
But as long as the margin was only one, there was still a chance that a stray ball from Orange would fall in. Perhaps a bit earlier than planned, Van Gaal switched to plan B. Daley Blind was unable to continue and Luuk de Jong came in his place, causing Gakpo to move to his favorite left flank. That plan B had come to light during the game, because Van Gaal or one of his assistants had left a note with the scenario of two strong strikers on the bench, after which it was photographed.
That plan B seemed to be thwarted when Argentina doubled their lead. Denzel Dumfries tapped Marcos Acuna in the penalty area and the Spanish referee Mateu Lahoz put the ball on the spot. Although he had missed against Poland in the third group match, Messi went after the penalty and this time he shot the ball in flawlessly: his fourth tournament goal and 95th in total for the Argentina side.
That's more or less what he said though I think he used the word "eulogising" rather than mythology!!
