Two nations chasing World Cup glory will do battle today in a match between the Netherlands and Argentina. The 2014 World Cup semifinal scheduled for 4 p.m. ET will be held at the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo and can be live streamed here free. A free Spanish language stream of the match can be found here. Free radio coverage here. Additional TV coverage can be found on ESPN, Univision and ESPN Deportes.
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Having returned to the World Cup semifinals for the first time since 1990, Argentina enter today's match favored to advance further. Being at this stage, however, has sufficed for head coach Alejandro Sabella. The native Argentine is convinced his men are already winners.
"Our intention was to go as far as possible, and to try to get in among the best four teams," Sabella said (via FIFA). "Having reached this stage, we will never settle for losing now, but for me this group of players have already won."
"We have already crossed the threshold," he added. "But now we will try to go a bit further and take another small step forward."
It should be of note that the match will be played on Argentina's National Day, the anniversary of the country's declaration of independence. Will that be enough to inspire the team to victory? Tell us @SportsWN
Tactical Preview
Player to Watch: James Rodriguez and Thomas Muller have already staked their claims as being the tournament's best players, but no list is complete without the considerations of Arjen Robben. The 30-year-old has run with rejuvenated pace this World Cup, serving as the Netherlands' premier threat. In five starts, Robben is among the team leaders with three goals and is averaging 3.7 successful take-ons per match. It will be his responsibility to expose a shaky Argentine defense.
Argentina's Projected Lineup (4-3-3): Romero; Rojo, Demichelis, Garay, Zabaleta; Gago, Mascherano, Perez; Aguero, Higuain, Messi
Netherlands' Projected Lineup (3-4-1-2): Cillessen; Indi, Vlaar, Vrij; Blind, Wijnaldum, Guzman, Kuyt; Sneijder; Robben, Persie
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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