Cape Town - Argentina captain Lionel Messi was in the foulest of moods when he interrupted a post-match interview to yell at Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal, who was passing by.
Messi had been named the 'Player of the Match' and while he was doing the customary interview to receive the award, he spotted Van Gaal passing by and looking at him. He yelled in Spanish: "What are you looking at, idiot? Go on, f*** off over there."
After Argentina had defeated the Netherlands 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out Messi could not contain himself. After the 'Player of the Match' interview, he approached Van Gaal who was standing with his assistant Dutch legend Edgar Davids and other members of the Dutch technical staff.
Van Gaal looked shocked and remained silent as Messi vented his anger. The media at the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Qatar were unable to establish what Messi had to say to Van Gaal.
Messi's anger came to light again in another post-match interview and this time he criticised Van Gaal. He said: "Louis van Gaal says that they play good football, but what he did was put on tall people and hit long balls."
Van Gaal had incurred the wrath of the Argentina squad after his comments in pre-match interviews. At one stage after the match, Messi approached Van Gaal and gestured that he spoke too much. Davids tried to calm Messi by putting an arm around him as a gesture of friendship
"QUE MIRAS BOBO":
— ¿Por qué es tendencia? (@porquetendencia) December 9, 2022
Por una consulta de Lionel Messi pic.twitter.com/LHBGMtfgoP
In a pre-match interview, Van Gaal told the media:
"Messi is indeed the most dangerous player who creates the most chances and also makes them himself.
"But on the other hand, he does not play much with the opponent when he has possession of the ball. That is also where our chances lie."
Argentina will now advance to the semi-finals following their dramatic 4-3 penalty shootout win after their World Cup quarter-final finished 2-2 after 120 minutes.