Netherlands 4-0 Argentina: 1974 second group stage
The first World Cup meeting between the sides is not one Argentina will remember with fondness. They are ruthlessly torn apart in Gelsenkirchen by the brilliant Johan Cruyff-inspired Oranje, whose collective vision, movement and passing patterns are complemented by steely tackling and defensive discipline. Cruyff dances around the goalkeeper, Daniel Carnevali, to roll in the first after latching on to Johan Neeskens’s chipped pass; it is the defender Wim Rijsbergen’s crunching challenge that sets the platform for the attack. Ruud Krol soon rockets in the second from the edge of the area after a corner. In the second half, Cruyff whips an immaculate cross to the far post where Johnny Rep’s bullet header makes it 3-0. On the sidelines, the Netherlands manager, Rinus Michels, laughs, claps and rubs his hands with glee. In the last minute, after yet another fluent passing move, Wim van Hanegem’s close-range shot is beaten out by Carnevali, only for Cruyff to audaciously volley in from an angle. For a proud footballing nation such as Argentina it is particularly painful to be taught a lesson in such emphatic fashion. Total football; total domination.
