Netherlands and Argentina H2H record
By Max Parsons
The Netherlands and Argentina most recently squared off in the quarter-final of the 2022 World Cup, producing one of the most memorable games of the tournament - and perhaps of the entire competition's history.
As two of the biggest names in football, meetings between the Netherlands and Argentina are always famous occasions that rarely disappoint.
Here's a look at the history of this famous fixture.
Netherlands vs Argentina H2H record
These two famous footballing nations have met ten times in the past, with both sharing the wins. The Europeans won four of the first nine encounters against Argentina, before the South Americans recorded a fourth win of their own in 2022.
Die Oranje enjoyed early success against the Argentines, winning their first ever meeting - a friendly just prior to the 1974 World Cup - 4-1. When it came to the actual tournament, the two sides met in the second round with the Netherlands enjoying an even more emphatic 4-0 victory over La Albiceleste on their way to the final.
World Cup bragging rights between the two nations would be firmly handed over to Argentina four years later, however. The two sides' next encounter came in the 1978 World Cup final, in which the South American outfit ran out 3-1 winners after extra time to earn their first global triumph and condemn the eternal bridesmaids to their second of three World Cup final defeats.
The Netherlands would go on to fall to a penalty-shootout defeat to Argentina in a commemorative match to mark the 75th anniversary of FIFA in 1979, although did knock them out of the 1998 World Cup with a 2-1 quarter-final victory.
After that, a 1-1 draw and a 1-0 Netherlands win in international friendlies set up two more World Cup meetings.
In 2006, the countries couldn't be separated as they played out a 0-0 draw in the group stage (both progressed with seven points). Argentina relied on a penalty shootout to knock the Dutch out of the 2014 World Cup at the semi-final stage before losing in the final.
Eight years later, their quarter-final was a jaw-dropping affair that saw Argentina throw away a two-goal lead and yet scrape through courtesy of a penalty shoot-out, capping off a game which saw a record-breaking number of yellow cards and the sort of controversy which will live long in the memory.
Netherlands vs Argentina H2H record
- Netherlands wins: 4
- Argentina wins: 4
- Draws: 2
Netherlands vs Argentina at major competitions
As you've gathered, over half of the meetings between the Netherlands and Argentina have happened at the World Cup. Argentina have won three, compared to two for the Dutch.
Die Oranje can cast their minds back to victories in 1974, when a 4-0 win set them up for their first World Cup final loss, and 1998, when - more positively - the two countries' only previous quarter-final meeting ended in the Netherlands' favour.
Apart from the aforementioned 0-0 draw in Germany, the other encounters between these two giants of football have ended in the Argentines' favour.
2014 brought with it a semi-final victory courtesy of a 4-2 penalty-shootout win but it will be memories of 1978, when La Albiceleste earned their maiden World Cup triumph courtesy of a 3-1 final triumph over the Dutch, that will particularly spur the country's current generation on.
With that motivation in mind, Argentina bagged another victory in 2022.
Top scorers in Netherlands vs Argentina fixtures
There have been more than a few legendary figures to have played in this fixture, with several icons getting on the scoresheet.
While the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Kluivert, Gabriel Batistuta and Edgar Davids have all netted in this match-up over the years, however, only three players have managed to bag two.
Mario Kempes quite memorably got himself a brace in the 1978 World Cup final to break Dutch hearts in that 3-1 triumph while, on the other side, the great Johan Cruyff was only other player to score twice in this fixture - both of his goals coming in the Netherlands' 4-0 thrashing over Argentina in the 1974 World Cup - before Wout Weghorst's sensational double in 2022 added his name to that legendary list.
It would be rude not to mention that Pleun Strick also found the net twice in this fixture, with his strikes both coming in the two nations' first ever encounter - one, however, came at the wrong end.