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Goalkeeper Sergio Romero pulled off two stunning saves as Argentina edged out the Netherlands 4-2 in the penalty shootout in a grinding semifinal match to set up a World Cup summit clash against Germany here today.
The second semifinal between the two heavyweight teams ended scoreless in the regulation 90 minutes and 30 minutes of extra time and its result had to be decided via penalty shootout.
Captain Lionel Messi, Ezequiel Garay, Sergio Aguero and Maxi Rodriguez scored for Argentina while only Arjen Robben and Dirk Kuyt could find the target for the Netherlands.
Romero turned out to be the hero for Argentina as he blocked shots from Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder to take his side to the fifth World Cup final.
Two-time champions Argentina now take on three-time winners Germany in the summit clash at the iconic Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.
This will be Argentina's first World Cup final entry in 24 years after 1990 when they lost to West Germany in the finals under Diego Maradona.
In stark contrast to the goals galore in Germany's 7-1 humiliation of Brazil in the first semifinal yesterday, today's match was more of a battle of attrition with very few goal-scoring chances with both sides trying to break down their opponents gradually.
The clash between the two heavyweights was though not without some tense and gripping spells with some fine build-ups but none of the two sides either blinked or committed mistakes to give the other team a chance.
The Dutch were able to keep Argentine captain Messi quiet for most part of the match with Ron Vlaar doing a great job by denying the four-time World Player of the Year free space, stopping him with fine tackles on a couple of occasions.
