{"id":49935,"date":"2026-04-23T13:55:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T08:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/?p=49935"},"modified":"2026-04-23T13:57:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T08:27:13","slug":"it-would-be-fantastic-de-jong-teases-dream-rematch-with-argentina-in-fifa-world-cup-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/football\/fifa-world-cup\/it-would-be-fantastic-de-jong-teases-dream-rematch-with-argentina-in-fifa-world-cup-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIt would be fantastic\u201d \u2014 De Jong teases dream rematch with Argentina in FIFA World Cup 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p dir=\"auto\">Barcelona and Netherlands midfielder <strong>Frenkie de Jong<\/strong> has sparked excitement among football fans by admitting it would be \u201cfantastic\u201d to face <strong>Argentina<\/strong> once more on the international stage.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">In a recent interview, the Dutch playmaker reflected on the memorable 2022 World Cup quarter-final clash against Lionel Messi\u2019s Argentina \u2014 a dramatic encounter that ended in a penalty shootout heartbreak for the Netherlands.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">\u201cIt would be fantastic if we could face Argentina again,\u201d de Jong said. \u201cThe last game was very special. But I am not going to say too much about it\u2026 I don\u2019t want to motivate them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">His cautious yet enthusiastic words show the respect (and perhaps a touch of rivalry) that still lingers from that epic 2022 battle in Qatar, often remembered as one of the most intense matches of the tournament.<\/p>\n<h4 dir=\"auto\">A Rivalry That Captivated the World<\/h4>\n<p dir=\"auto\">The 2022 quarter-final, dubbed the \u201cBattle of Lusail,\u201d was packed with drama, late equalizers, heated moments, and high-quality football. Argentina eventually progressed to lift the World Cup trophy with Messi at the helm, while the Netherlands showed their fighting spirit under Louis van Gaal.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">With the <strong>2026 FIFA World Cup<\/strong> now on the horizon (co-hosted by the USA, Mexico, and Canada), fans are already dreaming of another Netherlands vs Argentina showdown. Both nations have qualified, and de Jong remains a key figure in Ronald Koeman\u2019s Oranje midfield.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"auto\">De Jong, who has been in strong form for FC Barcelona in the 2025\/26 season, knows exactly how special these big-stage meetings can be. His comments come as the Netherlands continue their preparations, with the midfield maestro eager to write a new chapter against one of world football\u2019s most formidable sides.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Barcelona and Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong has sparked excitement among football fans by admitting it would be \u201cfantastic\u201d to\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":217,"featured_media":49936,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4658],"tags":[4083],"class_list":["post-49935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fifa-world-cup","tag-de-jong"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49935"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49937,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49935\/revisions\/49937"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}