Robben writes off Argentina

 

Arjen Robben insists Argentina “will not stand a chance” of winning the World Cup after Holland were knocked out in the semi-finals on penalties on Wednesday, ESPN reports.

Albicelestes beat Robben’s side 4-2 in the shootout after 120 goalless minutes and face Germany in the final on Sunday while Louis van Gaal’s Dutch team meet Brazil in the third-place play-off on Saturday.

Robben, who plays his club football for German side Bayern Munich and risked appearing to be a sore loser, was unequivocal when asked who he thought would triumph at the Maracana in Sunday’s final.

“Germany’s going to win the World Cup. No doubt about that. The Argentines will not stand a chance,” kicker quoted him as saying.

Reflecting on the loss to Argentina, he said, “Penalties are not only a game of pure chance – we’ve shown that against Costa Rica. We did a very good job there, and were really successful.

“It didn’t work out today during the penalties. We also had some bad luck but, sadly, that’s part of football.”

But despite the disappointment, Robben looked back on what he felt was a successful tournament for the Dutch, saying, “I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved. We presented ourselves really well.”

Meanwhile, Louis van Gaal has revealed two of his players refused to take the first spot-kick in the game.

Aston Villa defender Ron Vlaar stepped up but goalkeeper Sergio Romero came back to haunt the Dutch manager as Argentina went on to win 4-2.

Romero denied Vlaar and also Wesley Sneijder from 12 yards to secure Argentina a showdown with Germany.

“It should give you confidence. We took those penalties in an incredible way against Costa Rica,” Van Gaal said.

“But the issue is you score the first one and I asked two players to take the first ball before ending up with Vlaar.”