Netherlands and Argentina battle for a spot in a World Cup semi-final in today’s later match at 7pm. It’ll be played at the Iconic Stadium in Lusail, and will be officiated by Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz.
I’ve got all of the statistical goodies you need below to launch an assault on the bet builder markets today. From shots to xG, corners to cards and passes to fouls, I’ve got all the angles covered. If you need a bit of advice about how to get the most out of the data, check out my Stats Pack Guide here.
Predicted Lineups
There is no suggestion that the Netherlands will make any changes for this match. They have no suspensions, and no new injuries are reported. The Dutch have been lining up in a 5-3-2 formation for this World Cup. Head coach Louis van Gaal is known for being an astute tactician, a complete change of formation and style is unlikely.
The big question mark for Argentina is the right wing position where Papu Gomez came off injured vs Australia due to a sprained ankle. He could be replaced in the side by Angel Di Maria. Argentina should be unchanged in all other positions and the fullback duo of Acuna and Molina retained after some decent performances since coming into the side.
Team Stats
The Netherlands average exactly two goals per game in this World Cup but their xG per match is only 1.25, so they have overachieved with this metric. They have massively overachieved at the other end of the field with an xGA of 1.64 per match, whereas they’ve only conceded 0.50 times in each fixture. The Dutch have faced an average of 13 shots per 90 mins, which is quite a lot for a team which has qualified for a World Cup quarter final.
Louis Van Gaal’s men have only averaged 9.00 shots per game themselves, of which 3.50 have been SOT. They rank very average for corners for and against and very low with cards. The Netherlands have only picked up one card per match and drawn cards from their opponents even less at 0.75 per game.
Argentina have averaged 1.75 goals per game which is a fairly accurate reflection of their 1.96 xG. They have fired in 13.80 shots per match, of which 5.50 have been on target. Defensively, they’ve been quite assured only conceding 0.75 goals per game and they also have a strong xGA of 0.64. Scolari’s men have averaged just one SOT against them per 90 mins which is an excellent rate.
Argentina have played a very clean World Cup, picking up just 0.50 cards per match. They have drawn plenty of cards from their opponents at 3.25 per game which is no surprise considering some of the technical wizards in this side. Argentina rank quite low for corner numbers. They only obtained one vs Australia in the last 16 and on average had just 5.75 per game. They’ve only conceded two corners on average per 90 mins at the other end.
Player Shots and Shots on Target
Memphis Depay averages the most shots per 90 mins (4.17) and has a decent conversion rate with 2.08 SOT. Cody Gakpo is the top scorer for the Dutch but doesn’t shoot all that freely, at an average of just 1.32 per 90 mins, of which 0.79 have been on target. With Gakpo it is very much quality over quantity. Only one other Dutch player, Daley Blind averages more than one shot per 90 mins (1.25).
Lionel Messi has averaged the most shots per match for Argentina, amassing 4.24 per 90 mins, with a respectable 2.00 on target. Lautaro Martinez has endured a poor World Cup in front of goal and only averages one SOT per 90 mins from four shots.
Julian Alvarez has been much more clinical, averaging 2.17 SOT per 90 mins which is the most of any Argentinian. He’s also fired in a decent number of shots at 3.48 per match. Alexis Mac Allister has a 100% SOT ratio but only averages 0.77 attempts per game.
Player Goals and Assists
Cody Gakpo has been one of the revelations of this tournament and tops the Dutch goalscoring charts, netting three times at this world cup. Five other players have each scored one goal, including Memphis Depay and Frenkie De Jong. Denzel Dumfries and Davy Klaassen are the joint leading assist providers for the Dutch with two each. De Jong and Blind have supplied one goal each.
Lionel Messi leads the goal scoring charts for Argentina, netting three times. Alvarez has scored twice with Mac Allister and Fernandez each bagging one goal each. Both Lautaro Martinez and Angel Di Maria have yet to trouble the scorers. Assists have been spread around evenly with four players all supplying a goal, including Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria.
NETHERLANDS Cards
This has been a very clean tournament for the Netherlands and only three players have picked up cards. Jurrien Timber leads their fouls chart with 4.00 per game but has surprisingly gone unpunished and avoided any bookings to date.
Koopmeiners is not expected to start but is the next on the list, averaging 3.13 fouls per 90 mins and he has obtained one yellow card. The only other significant Dutchman to average more than one foul per game is Denzel Dumfries (2.75), but he is another who has so far managed to evade the referee’s book.
Papu Gomez has been fouled 4.17 times per 90 mins at this World Cup for Argentina. He isn’t expected to start, but if and when he comes on then watch out for him to draw fouls and cards.
Messi has been fouled 2.75 times per match and he is so elusive that it is inevitable at some stage that one of the opposition players will get booked for a foul on him. The trio of Mac Allister, Acuna and Di Maria have all been fouled on average close to twice per game and provide tough matchups.
Match-Ups to watch
Daley Blind vs Angel Di Maria & Papu Gomez
Denzel Dumfries vs Marcos Acuna
Jurrien Timber vs Lionel Messi
argentina Cards
La Albiceleste have played a very clean World Cup so far and only two players have picked up cards, Montiel and Acuna. Both of those two also lead their fouls charts averaging 2.50 and 2.22 per 90 mins respectively. Defenders Romero and Otamendi both average more than 1.50 fouls per 90 mins but have so far escaped any punishment.
No player in the Dutch ranks has been fouled more than 1.50 times per 90 mins. Right wing back Denzel Dumfries leads that chart and has been one of their better performers at this World Cup. In midfield Davy Klaassen has been fouled 1.43 times on average, whilst in attack Memphis Depay has a 1.25 figure for this metric.
Match-Ups to watch
Marcos Acuna vs Denzel Dumfries
Memphis Depay vs Nicolas Otamendi
Enzo Fernandez vs Davy Klaassen
Player passes
Only one Dutch player has averaged more than 72 passes per 90 mins and that is defender Jurrien Timber. The trio of De Jong, Ake and Blind are all very close to the 70 mark for passing per 90 mins. The Netherlands have not been a particularly high possession team in this World Cup, only having 53% of the ball. Just one other team remaining in the competition (Morocco) has averaged less possession.
Only Spain have had more possession at this World Cup than Argentina, so it is no surprise to see several of their players with high numbers of passes. Fernandez averages 100 passes per 90 mins, although his total field time per game has only been 59 mins. Rodrigo De Paul has averaged a massive 99 passes per 90 mins and Otamendi isn’t far behind with 93. The next highest is Romero, who averages 77.6 passes per 90 mins, but his field time has been just 65 mins per game.
