Barely a day after Germany demolished host country Brazil in a 7-1 score semi-final game, another World Cup benchmark has been made.
This morning’s game was the first World Cup semi-final ever, between #ARG and #NED, to run for 120 minutes without any goals. After which, the two countries found themselves battling it out in a penalty shootout. #ARG goalkeeper Sergio Romero sent Argentina into the World Cup final when he saved two penalties. The end score of 4-2 drove Argentina’s players to strip off their shirts in the rain at the Itaquerao Stadium and dance in front of their fans.
A quick lowdown:
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#ARG is a two-time World Cup winner, once in 1978 and once in 1986.
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This would be #ARG’s fifth time reaching a World Cup final.
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It’s also #ARG’s first time reaching a World Cup final in 24 years.
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#ARG has played West #GER in both the 1986 and 1990 finals.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil will now see a titan faceoff between #ARG and #GER in the final game which will take place at the Macarana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Monday, 14th July at 3am (Malaysian time).
On the other hand, #NED (which has never won the World Cup) and #BRA will fight for 3rd place on Sunday, 13th July at 4am (Malaysian time). Catch the games here.
Meanwhile, the FIFA World Cup Trophy will once again be unveiled at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final and this year’s special guests primed to do the honours are none other than Carles Puyol as well as Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen. The trophy is housed in its tailor-made Louis Vuitton travel case, commissioned specifically for this purpose by FIFA in 2010.
This has been one of the most surprising World Cups ever, with equal amounts of strange and shocking incidents to boot even on the local front - and it’s not over yet. It’s going to be a nail-biting, hair-tearing, cardiac-arrest-inducing weekend, guys