30 days to the World Cup: Argentina, Netherlands set yellow-card record in chaotic quarterfinal

Six more yellows would be handed out before the end of regulation, including two given in the more than 10 minutes of stoppage time tacked on at the end. In the 73rd minute, Lionel Messi scored a penalty kick — awarded after a light foul on Acuña just inside the box — that grew Argentina’s lead to 2-0 and may have exacerbated tensions even more.

Weghorst, subbing into the game while on a yellow, scored in the 83rd minute to pull the Oranje back into it. Then, in the 88th minute, Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes followed up a bad tackle by kicking the ball right into the Netherlands’ bench, sparking a scrum that included many of the Dutch subs.

That fight led to a yellow for Paredes, as well as one for Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni.

Deep in stoppage time, Weghorst scored again to send the game to extra time, where three more players were penalized, including another off-field Dutch player — Steven Bergwjin — getting a yellow.

After the two teams stayed locked at 2-2, the match advanced to a penalty shootout — but the yellows didn’t stop. In the middle of the PKs, the Netherlands’ Denzel Dumfries and Noa Lang were both given more yellows after an altercation between kicks. Argentina ended up winning the shootout 4-3, but Dumfries was given a second yellow and subsequent red card for one more fight after the game was over.

The ending tally was eight yellow cards apiece for Argentina and the Netherlands’ players, plus a red for Dumfries and two more yellows for Argentina’s coaching staff. 18 yellow cards in all — a World Cup record.

Afterward, Lahoz faced significant criticism for losing control of the dramatic match, and for some of the controversial calls that colored the match. Still, we all know the rest of the story, as Argentina went on to win it all, after another penalty shootout against France.