ARGENTINA: WORLD CUP - Argentine fans celebrate winning their group on goal difference after 0-0 draw with Netherlands

Record ID: 447793

  • Title: ARGENTINA: WORLD CUP - Argentine fans celebrate winning their group on goal difference after 0-0 draw with Netherlands
  • Date: 22nd June 2006
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) SEBASTIAN PONCE, ARGENTINA FAN, SAYING: "It was a good game. We thought they were going to win. But well, we must remember that the Netherlands is not Serbia and Montenegro. So the game looked entertaining. I think that we can win in the next phase." (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OSCAR ALEJANDRO, ARGENTINA FAN, SAYING: "It was normal, normal. The two teams went out to draw, to take care of themselves. Whether it had come out 0-0 or 1-1, I think it is what the two teams expected."
  • Embargoed: 7th July 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA59HT6FKXQ9NBUVK6IVQJJ7A7S
  • Story Text: Argentina fans watched a nail-biting match on Wednesday (June 21), as their team played the final game in the first round of the World Cup.
    As fans all over the country gathered around television screens to watch the game against the Netherlands, all work came to a standstill for ninety nerve-racking minutes. After a tight, tactical battle that only sprung to life on isolated occasions, Argentina and Netherlands cancelled each other out in a Group C draw.
    Argentina created the more chances during the game, although the team was forced back in the latter stages of the first half. Argentine teenager Lionel Messi, making his first start in the finals, was restricted by close Dutch marking but got in a shot in first-half stoppage time that went straight to Van der Sar.
    Despite their failure to win another victory like their 6-0 triumph over Serbia and Montenegro, fans were satisfied with what they described as a good match. "It was a good game. We thought they were going to win. But well, we must remember that the Netherlands is not Serbia and Montenegro. So the game looked entertaining. I think that we can win in the next phase," said Sebastian Ponce, an Argentina supporter.
    For Oscar Alejandro, the result reflected what both teams were probably hoping for, given that they were both set to qualify from their group. "It was normal, normal. The two teams went out to draw, to take care of themselves. Whether it had come out 0-0 or 1-1, I think it is what the two teams expected," he said.
    But the lack of victory did not stop exuberant fans from celebrating in the street, happy to have made it through the first round after being knocked out at the same stage four years ago.
    Despite the scoreless match, the Argentines finished top of the group on goal difference and will meet Mexico in Leipzig in the second round on Saturday (June 24). The Dutch face Portugal in Nuremberg on Sunday (June 25).
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