FRANKFURT, Germany _ In his debut as a World Cup starter, teenager
Lionel Messi did everything but give Argentina victory.
It didn't matter. In a 0-0 draw with the Netherlands on Wednesday, the
Argentines confirmed their role as title contenders and easily earned a
second-round match against Mexico.
Fielding four second-string players, Argentina showed its depth. The Dutch
were less impressive as they head to a meeting with Portugal on Sunday in
Nuremberg.
As Group C winner, Argentina now has a Latin American duel in Leipzig on
Saturday. No doubt it will be the overwhelming favorite after another strong
performance.
"The only thing we lacked were goals," forward Carlos Tevez said. "We did
everything right and for some reason we were unable to score."
Messi, who played for 69 minutes, ran the show for much of the time he was on
the field. He set up chances for teammates, tested the inexperienced Dutch
defense and showed the skills only a precious few players in the world have.
When he was replaced, Diego Maradona applauded him from the stands.
At the same time, Netherlands winger Arjen Robben was on the bench, saving
his strength for the second round. The Dutch also played without four other
starters and the performance showed that, somehow, coach Marco van Basten can
earn results against even the toughest of opposition.
In his Dutch record-equaling 112th international, goalkeeper Edwin van der
Sar produced the save of the match, a one-handed dive to swipe out a 20-meter
(yard) drive from Tevez, the Man of the Match, in the 74th minute to deny
Argentina what it had deserved.
"We had our hands full," Van Basten said. "We played against one of the top
teams in the world, and we survived. We kept them from scoring."
Overall, the clash of the 1978 finalists rarely produced the intensity
everyone had hoped for. It made Messi's performance all the more exciting.
