Ex-Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham United man is the hero for Argentina in World Cup victory over the Netherlands

Lionel Messi initially took centre stage as he produced a remarkable assist for Nahuel Molina’s opener before he put a second-half penalty beyond the reach of Andries Noppert. Ex-Burnley striker Wout Weghorst scored twice late on, with his equaliser coming in the 11th minute of stoppage time.

Aston Villa stopper Martinez, who had loan spells with Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham United during his time at Arsenal, saved from Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk and Ajax’s Steven Berghuis in the shootout as Argentina set up a semi-final with Croatia.

Lautaro Martinez hammered the winning penalty home after Enzo Fernandez sent his spotkick wide, with the South American nation winning 4-3 on penalties.

The loss was the first tasted by Louis van Gaal since he returned for a third stint in charge of the Netherlands, with the 71-year-old former Manchester United manager bowing out from his role from the national side.

In an ill-tempered tie, Spanish referee Antonio Mateu produced 14 yellow cards as the players from both sides were involved in several melees, including one after the final penalty of the shootout.

Messi produced a stunning no-look, reverse pass to cut open the Dutch defence in the first half as Molina kept his cool to tuck away his first international goal. Messi scored from 12 yards on 73 minutes after Marcos Acuna was tripped by Denzel Dumfries just inside the area.

Weghorst came off the bench and guided home a smart header on 83 minutes and with one of the last plays of the game, the Netherland dramatically took the tie to extra time as Teun Koopmeiners rolled a free-kick into the path of Weghorst who turned to roll the ball home, catching the entire Argentine defence by surprise.

However, Dutch celebrations did not continue as Argentina joined Croatia in the first semi-final after the Europeans stunned Brazil earlier in the day.