Netherlands vs. Argentina: How do both squads compare ahead of World Cup clash?

The last time these sides made it this far was in 2014, when the Dutch defeated Costa Rica 4-3 on penalties in a match which ended 0-0 after regulation, and La Albiceleste edged Belgium 1-0.

Louis van Gaal coached the Netherlands to a bronze medal on that occasion, and in his third stint at the helm, he has them a step away from the semi-finals once again after defeating the USA 3-1 in the opening knockout game.

Lionel Scaloni and the Argentines hung onto a 2-1 win over Australia at the Round of 16 after crashing out at that stage four years earlier when they lost to the eventual champions France (4-3).

Here, Sports Mole looks at how the squad of the Netherlands and Argentina stack up against each other ahead of Friday's contest.

NETHERLANDS

Most valuable player:

Matthijs de Ligt (£60.3m)

Overall squad value:

£506m

Most capped player:

Daley Blind (98)

Leading goalscorer:

Memphis Depay (43)

Total caps:

745

Total goals:

113

Oldest player:

Remko Pasveer (39)

Youngest player:

Xavi Simons (19)

Average age:

26.6

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Goalkeepers: Remko Pasveer (Ajax), Justin Bijlow (Feyenoord), Andries Noppert (Heerenveen)

Defenders: Jurrien Timber (Ajax), Matthijs de Ligt (Bayern Munich), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Nathan Ake (Manchester City), Stefan de Vrij (Inter Milan), Tyrell Malacia (Manchester United), Daley Blind (Ajax), Denzel Dumfries (Inter Milan), Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen)

Midfielders: Steven Berghuis (Ajax), Davy Klaassen (Ajax), Marten de Roon (Atalanta), Teun Koopmeiners (Atalanta), Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), Kenneth Taylor (Ajax), Xavi Simons (PSV)

Forwards: Steven Bergwijn (Ajax), Cody Gakpo (PSV), Luuk de Jong (PSV), Memphis Depay (Barcelona), Nao Lang (Club Brugge), Vincent Janssen (Antwerp), Wout Weghorst (Besiktas)

ARGENTINA

Most valuable player:

Lautaro Martinez (£64.6m)

Overall squad value:

£556.1m

Most capped player:

Lionel Messi (169)

Leading goalscorer:

Lionel Messi (94)

Total caps:

950

Total goals:

172

Oldest player:

Franco Armani (36)

Youngest player:

Thiago Almada (21)

Average age:

27.8

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Goalkeepers: Franco Armani (River Plate), Geronimo Rulli (Villarreal), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)

Defenders: Juan Foyth (Villrreal), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon), Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), German Pezzella (Real Betis), Marcos Acuna (Sevilla), Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid)

Midfielders: Leandro Paredes (Juventus), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Thiago Almada (Atlanta United), Alejandro Gomez (Sevilla), Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton & Hove Albion), Enzo Fernandez (Benfica)

Forwards: Julian Alvarez (Manchester City), Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain), Angel Di Maria (Juventus), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Paulo Dybala (Roma), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)

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Netherlands vs. Argentina: How do both squads compare ahead of World Cup clash?