Dutch manager Louis van Gaal believes Argentina's Lionel Messi and the World Cup win in Qatar were the result of a scam. Van Gaal was in command of the Netherlands team that lost to the eventual champions in the quarterfinals, with Argentina triumphing on penalties following a thrilling 2-2 draw at Doha's Lusail Stadium.
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Argentina took a two-goal lead in a dramatic contest thanks to goals from Nahuel Molina and Messi's penalty, which was awarded with just 17 minutes remaining in the game. But in one of the tournament's most dramatic plot twists, the Dutch came back with two goals from Wout Weghorst, the second of which came 11 minutes into stoppage time in the fiercely contested match.
During the course of the game, sixteen yellow cards were issued, and in the final few minutes of extra time, Dutch right-back Denzel Dumfries was dismissed, which allowed Argentina to win in a penalty shootout thanks to the misses of Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis.
In the spectacular World Cup final against France, in which Messi scored twice and Kylian Mbappe notched a hat-trick, they would also win on penalties, and Van Gaal has claimed that they received assistance in doing so.
Speaking recently at the award function of the Dutch league on Tuesday night, Van Gaal stated to Dutch news agency NOS, "'I don't really want to say much about it. When you see how Argentina gets the goals and how we get the goals, and how some Argentina players overstepped the mark and were not punished, then I think it all premeditated game."
The 72-year-old was further asked to explain his allegations, to which he replied, "I mean everything I say. That Messi should become world champion? I think so, yes."
