Former Netherlands Head Coach Louis Van Gaal has made some damaging allegations about the 2022 FIFA World Cup that was staged in Qatar.
Lionel Messi led Argentina to their first-ever World Cup since 1986, beating the defending champions France in an energy-sapping final at the Lusail Stadium on December 18.
It was a sweet turnaround for Messi, who managed to go all the way despite watching his side go 2-1 down to minnows Saudi Arabia in their first group game. They then beat Mexico and Poland to make it through to the knockout stages.
The Albiceleste saw off Australia in the round of 16, beat Van Gaal’s Netherlands in the quarterfinals and thrashed 2018 finalists Croatia in the last four.
Van Gaal has, however, now claimed that the games were premeditated and lined up for Messi to complete a fairy football football.
“I don’t really want to say much about it. When you see how Argentina gets the goals and how we get the goals and how some Argentina players overstepped the mark and were not punished, then I think it was all a premeditated game,” said Van Gaal, as quoted by Dutch publication
Save for the final, the Argentina vs. Netherlands game was one of the games of the tournament. Lionel Scaloni’s side had raced to a 2-0 lead before Wout Weghorst came off the bench to score a quickfire brace and force the game to extra time and penalties.