Just a hint of fractiousness drifted into the game in the final few minutes of the first half, thanks to a couple of fairly blatant fouls and the full and frank exchanges of views that followed. The Dutch, in particular, have every reason to be frustrated: Argentina has held Louis van Gaal’s team at bay with a degree of comfort for the first 45 minutes. Its task from here on in is straightforward: if it can keep the Dutch at arms’ length for another 45 minutes or so, then it has a semifinal against Croatia to relish.
For Louis van Gaal, the Netherlands’ canny coach, it is more complex.