The last time these teams met was in the 2018 World Cup in the group stages where it ended in a 2-2 draw and a similar fierce battle ensued in the first half of the pre-quarterfinal here with both teams going all out for a place in the last-eight.
Argentina changed their strategy immediately after the break, switching to a three-man defence after taking a one-goal lead in the first half. They scored their second goal as a result of the tactical switch as they caused Matt Ryan to make a terrible error. It was Julian Alvarez who profited from it.
The football maestro scored his 9th goal of the World Cup to surpass legend Diego Maradona, who had 8 goals to his name in the World Cup. It was also the Argentine's first goal in the knockout stage. The goal made him the second-highest scorer for Argentina in World Cups, only one goal behind Gabriel Batistuta.
The Netherlands had 42 per cent of possession but the United States of America had 58. The Dutch team had six shots on target while the Americans had eight shots on target.
Croatia progressed to pre-quarters as finished second in the group with seven points in three matches, behind Morocco which defeated Canada 2-1 to top the group with seven points.
Michy Batshuayi scored the only goal of the game as Belgium overpowered Canada 1-0 in a Group F match of the ongoing FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022 at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium