It will be another blockbuster of a World Cup semi-finals match in Sao Paulo tonight as Argentina and The Netherlands scramble for the last ticket to Sunday's grand final of Brazil 2014 at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
Sao Paulo has been significant as host of the opening ceremony of the Brazil tournament and where the hosts went off to a flying start with a 3-1 victory over Croatia in the inaugural match. And it must be doubly significant that it will be the venue to witness how two of the tournament's elites sort themselves out for the final slot.
These have been two great performers at this tournament, whose meeting, like the earlier one between Brazil and Germany, deserves to be the final itself. Both had gained maximum points of nine to top their respective groups and proceeded in seeing off stiff challenges at the round of 16, where the Dutch stopped the rise of Mexico (2-1) and the Argentines ended the bravery of the Swiss in extra-time (1-0).
But it must have been a reversal of roles of a sort, when at the quarter-finals Argentina accounted for Belgium (1-0) in regulation time but The Netherlands had to go the extra mile, that is, scoreless 90 minutes and extra-time, and penalty shoot-out (4-3) to edge out the tournament's revelation, Costa Rica.
Manchester United-bound Dutch coach, Louis van Gaal, had to employ all his wits by sending on a substitute goalkeeper, the gangling Tim Krul of Newcastle fame, for Ajax's Jasper Cillessen, just a few seconds to end the scoreless extra-time and with the shoot-out in sight.
It was a prodigious performance by Krul, saving two kicks by Bryan Ruiz and Michael Umana, to send ‘The Orange’ into tonight's semis amid great expectations by their fans that Brazil 2014 will yet land them the biggest prize in world football that has so far eluded them at every tournament that they have attended.
Significantly, the other three teams that made it to this year's semis have been champions before, not once but at least twice, as in the case of their opponents tonight, while Germany carried it three times and Brazil for an unprecedented five times. So, the feeling of emptiness by the Dutch at world football's high table will be their driving force going into tonight's decisive game.
They have captain Robben van Persie, tireless Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Dirk Kuyt, and not to mention Krul when it comes down to penalties, among others, to do the bidding.
But the Argentines have Lionel Messi who, even without the injured playmaker, Angel Di Maria, their leading scorer Gonzalo Higuain, Pablo Zabaleta and Javier Mascherrano, among others, can be a one-man orchestra to run their beat.
Messi, the four times world best player, is regarded as the Diego Maradona incarnate, who led Argentina to their second world title in 1986 before falling to Germany in the final of their defence of the title in 1990.
Also significant is the fact that tonight will be Argentina's fourth appearance in the semi-finals but the first since 1990 in Italy, while it will also be Holland's fourth but the second time since South Africa 2010 where they defeated Uruguay in the pelultimate round to make a date with Spain in the final.
However, tonight marks the fifth clash by the two teams in World Cup history, with the Dutch posting two wins as against one and a goalless draw by the Argentines in their previous four encounters. But The Netherlands beat Argentina in the quarter-finals of France '98, the Argentines were the richer two decades earlier when as hosts they beat the Dutch in the final in Buenos Aires to lift the trophy for the second time.
