Benches Clear In Wild Argentina-Netherlands World Cup Match
The Dutch are heading home while Argentina advances to the World Cup semifinal.
Sounds so simple, doesn't it?
But that doesn't even tell half the story of a truly insane, hotly-contested World Cup quarterfinal match.
Argentina jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a Lionel Messi penalty and a shockingly beautiful assist from the greatest ever to do it.
That's when things really escalated, as they have frequently during this World Cup.
In the 75th minute, the Argentinian keeper took some extra time to stand over Luke de Jong, taunting him.
This one was one of many disagreements in a match with 17 yellow cards, but things got more intense a few minutes later.
The Dutch pulled one back on a Wout Weghurst goal in the 83rd minute, suddenly putting the outcome in doubt for Argentina.
Then in the 87th, Leandro Paredes went in for an extremely hard tackle on Nathan Ake. He got up and immediately fired the ball directly at the Dutch bench.
That cleared the benches, with some pushing and shoving and Paredes getting sent to the ground.
The Dutch recovered to put home a remarkable tying goal in the very last minute of regular time. Naturally, that sent their bench into wild celebrations, and immediately echoed Brazil's late collapse earlier in the day.
Argentina Stay in World Cup on Penalties
But after a wide-open extra time didn't yield a goal, the match went into a penalty shootout.
Argentina's keeper saved the first two Dutch attempts, which miraculously propelled them through after blowing a 2-0 lead.
There was clearly no love lost between the two teams, as the Argentina players immediately looked at the Dutch after the final goal.
Argentina players celebrate after their win in the penalty shootout as Netherlands players react during the FIFA World Cup (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
You don't see that very often.
This has been a World Cup filled with drama and nearly unimaginable outcomes. Perhaps the most bizarre was Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo being benched, only to see his replacement net a hat trick.
The Dutch eliminated the Americans, but will feel disappointed they weren't able to complete the comeback Friday.
Argentina, meanwhile, keeps Lionel Messi's hopes alive, as this is likely his last opportunity to win the World Cup trophy.
Argentina will face Croatia, who shockingly eliminated the Brazilians. They should be heavy favorites, but given how this tournament's unfolded, they can take absolutely nothing for granted.