Messi: Maradona is watching us from above and he is the motivation for us at the World Cup

LUCILLE (Qatar): Lionel Messi has said Argentina felt the presence of the late Diego Maradona throughout his FIFA World Cup season in Qatar, including on Friday when they beat the Netherlands 4-3 on penalties to reach the semi-finals. Messi seemed to inspire Argentina to qualify for the semi-final against Croatia, who defeated Brazil in the quarter-finals, after setting up Nauel Molina’s opener before half-time and adding the second goal from a penalty kick. But Argentina blew the lead with two goals in stoppage time before goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez kept his composure to save the first two penalties from the Netherlands, then Lautaro Martinez scored the decisive kick to bring his country to qualification. “Diego is watching us from the sky,” Messi told reporters. It’s our motivation and I really hope it stays tale until the end. Messi added: “When Lautaro scored and we qualified, there was great joy in the atmosphere. We took a lot of weight off our chest, it was a very difficult match. It was a very tough match from the start, we knew it would go like this. He continued: ‘We put it all behind us on the pitch … We were really happy and enjoyed that moment, which we can see here and also in Argentina. People are really happy.. and they are really excited.. also full of enthusiasm. The Dutch team gave us problems with long balls and presence. That’s what we wanted.” Argentina will meet Croatia in looking for a place in final, after the 2018 runners-up beat Brazil on penalties earlier in the day. Penalty Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said that despite the side’s slump in the second half, Argentina had no problem finding players ready to take penalties. “Sometimes it is difficult in these situations (to kick) and you find players reluctant to take them,” said Scaloni. “This time, we had a very large group of volunteers (kicking). the order of the players. “It’s true that we deserved to avoid penalties, but we fought until the end, the second half was very strange. We controlled everything but we knew what football could do. He continued: “It was a beautiful game, when you think everything is over, you find the surprise. The team is made up of experienced players and young players that we are proud of, and that is the main thing because we want to fight.” Defensive duo Marcos Acuña and Gonzalo Montiel will miss the Croatia match after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament against the Netherlands. (Reuters)