Argentina defeated the Netherlands in a thrilling World Cup quarterfinal on penalties.

After a thrilling 2-2 draw in Qatar, Argentina defeated Netherlands on penalties to advance to the World Cup semi-finals where they will play Croatia.

The Dutch scored twice at the very end of the game to force extra time, but it was in vain as the South American team won on penalties, with Emiliano Martinez shining in goal for Argentina.

For a solid 70 minutes of this game, there weren't many opportunities, but by that point, Argentina had taken two of them and looked confident because the Dutch weren't providing much of an offensive threat.

Nahuel Molina scored his first goal for his country after latching onto a beautiful through ball from Lionel Messi. This was an unexpected source for the opening goal.

The Netherlands had hardly tested Emiliano Martinez in the Argentina goal when Messi converted a penalty on 73 minutes, but they did make things very intriguing in the closing seconds.

With seven minutes remaining in regulation, substitute Wout Weghorst nodded in a goal as Louis van Gaal threw on the big guys and took the direct approach to unnerve Argentina.

It was successful, but it took a clever touch to force extra time. Weghorst was in the box when a free kick just outside Argentina's box rolled into his feet. He took a touch, spun, and fired past Emi Martinez to tie the score.