Netherlands score incredible 100th minute free kick to force extra time

Wout Weghorst scored an incredible 100th minute free kick to equalise for Netherlands in the World Cup quarter final vs Argentina, having been 2-0 down.

Lionel Messi looked to have put his team within touching distance of the semi final, after an outrageous assist and penalty goal to put his team two goals ahead.

However, Louis van Gaal through on former Burnley striker Weghorst, who was a huge flop in the Premier League, and completely changed the game.

The big striker headed home in the 76th minute to give his side hope but then missed a great chance, by mere inches, from inside the box.

Then, with virtually no time left of the 10 minutes of injury time, Netherlands won a free kick on the edge of the box, which Cody Gakpo and Teun Koopmeiners stood over.

Instead of attempting a shot, Koopmeiners played an amazing through ball under the wall, to Weghorst, who played it past Emiliano Martinez and took the game to extra time.

WELL THEN 😳

Wout Weghorst's second goal sends it to extra-time! 😱#BBCFootball #BBCWorldCup pic.twitter.com/2pVsJhuKQf

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 9, 2022

"Balls of steel to pull that! Unbelievable," one fan said.

"That was pure composure, trust and belief in the coaching received. Unbelievable," a second, who found it equally unbelievable, added.

A third continued to be impressed by the timing of the move, saying, "All or nothing, your final attack of the game and you pull this free-kick routine. Incredible stuff."

Another compared it to something it out of a film, saying, "The audacity to take a free-kick like that under the wall in the 11th minute of added time is like something out of The Mighty Ducks."

And another summed it up by suggesting it'll go down in the anals of history, "That free kick will go down in World Cup folklore. Instantly in the top 20 odd for me."

Others compared it to the free kick that Argentina themselves scored in the 1998 last 16 game against England, when David Beckham was famously sent off.

With Brazil having been shocked in the earlier knockout game against Croatia, on penalties, some were starting to believe that the World Cup was Messi's.

The 37-year-old had never scored in the knockout stages of any of the World Cups he'd been at, before scoring in the last 16 game against Australia.

He doubled that tally with a second half penalty, after Denzel Dumfries took out Marcos Acuna, and it looked like it would be the winning goal.

However, Louis van Gaal has never lost a World Cup knockout game in 90 minutes and he wasn't going to give up that record.

As well as Weghorst, he also threw on Luuk de Jong, and they attempted to find some longer balls upfront to make the difference.

It certainly worked wonders, as did their set piece plans, and they managed to force extra time.