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SAO PAULO, Brazil -- The World Cups second semifinal was supposed to put the silky skills of Lionel Messi and Arjen Robben in the spotlight. Instead, a goalkeeper and two rock-solid defences stole the show. Argentina goalie Sergio Romero saved two penalties Wednesday to send Argentina into the World Cup final with a 4-2 shootout win over the Netherlands after tough defending and a lack of creative spark from either team consigned the match to a 0-0 stalemate. In a twist of fate, Romero credited Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal with helping launch his career when he arrived as an inexperienced youngster at AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch league. "I will be forever grateful to the coach for helping me out in a country that is so different from ours," Romero said. A day after Germany lit up the World Cup with its clinical 7-1 destruction of host Brazil, the Dutch and Argentines could not manage a goal between them in 120 minutes before the shootout. Messi, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, will have to do play far better in Sundays final at Rio de Janeiros Maracana Stadium if he is to engineer a win over the powerful German team. The Barcelona star was muted throughout the match and extra time, rarely managing to shake off his markers. At the Itaquerao Stadium, he was overshadowed by his goalkeeper and the man he replaced as Argentina captain, Javier Mascherano, who bossed the midfield for his team the way surprise starter Nigel de Jong did for the Dutch. When Robben looked like deciding the match in stoppage time, Mascheranos perfectly timed sliding tackle blocked his shot at the near post. "I would say that he is an outstanding player," Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella said. "He is an emblem within our national squad, on the field as well as off it." Romero -- thought to be a weak link for Argentina and not even a starter for his Monaco club most of last season -- had almost nothing to do during the match, but blocked penalties by Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder in the shootout. For Argentina, Messi, Ezequiel Garay, Sergio Aguero and Maxi Rodriguez all converted their spot kicks. "Its luck, thats the truth. You can dive (the right way) and not make it, like happened to their goalkeeper," Romero said. "I had confidence, thank God things turned out well." A Germany-Argentina final means an extra bitter end to the tournament for Brazilians, who will have to watch their fiercest rivals play for the world title in their most hallowed stadium against a team that humiliated their nation in the semifinals. "We have a final to play, but with one day less rest and against Germany," Sabella said. "Well do everything possible to make it all the way to the top." It was the second straight penalty shootout following a 0-0 draw for the Dutch. Against Costa Rica in the quarterfinals, Van Gaal brought on substitute goalkeeper Tim Krul in the last seconds of extra time to replace Jasper Cillessen and Krul saved two spot kicks. This time, Van Gaal had used up all three substitutions by the end of extra time and Cillessen had to face the shootout. The young Ajax goalkeeper collapsed onto his knees and sank onto his back when Rodriguezs powerful strike ended the shootout. Krul walked across the pitch to console him. Van Gaal also said he had a hand in Romeros heroics from their time together at AZ Alkmaar. "Penalties are always a matter of luck," he said. "And I taught Romero how to stop penalties so that hurts." Many of Argentinas players stripped off their shirts in the rain at the Itaquerao Stadium and danced in front of their fans. Argentina reached its fifth final, and its first in 24 years. It won the title in 1978 -- beating the Dutch -- and in 1986. It lost the championship matches in 1930 and 1990. It played West Germany in both the 86 and 90 finals. The Netherlands, which has never won the World Cup, was seeking to reach its fourth final. After scoring 10 goals in three group matches, the Dutch scoring dried up in the knockout rounds. The team managed two late strikes against Mexico but failed to find the net before eliminating Costa Rica in the quarterfinal shootout. "The issue in a championship like this one is that you score one more goal than your opponent, which we didnt do," Van Gaal said, "We didnt create very much." ------ Lineups: Netherlands: Jasper Cillessen; Dirk Kuyt, Ron Vlaar, Stefan de Vrij, Bruno Martins Indi (Daryl Janmaat, 46), Daley Blind; Nigel de Jong (Jordy Clasie, 62), Georginio Wijnaldum, Wesley Sneijder; Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie (Klaas Jan Huntelaar). Argentina: Sergio Romero; Pablo Zabaleta, Martin Demichelis, Ezequiel Garay, Marcos Rojo; Lucas Biglia, Javier Mascherano, Enzo Perez (Rodrigo Palacio, 81); Ezequiel Lavezzi (Maxi Rodriguez, 101), Gonzalo Higuain (Sergio Aguero, 82), Lionel Messi. Raymond Felton Jersey . Hes just beginning to get similar results. The right-hander struggled after winning the honour in 2008 and 2009, but a retooling of his game has begun to pay off and has the San Francisco Giants thinking about the Lincecum of old. Gary Payton Jersey .The Toronto Raptors guard, who will represent the Eastern Conference at the All-Star Game in New Orleans on Sunday, says he doesnt complain in the face of adversity "because I know this little girl is just happy for anything. http://www.cheapthunderjerseyschina.com/ . Orlov, who scored two goals in the game, was assessed a major penalty for boarding on the play. The Flyers scored once on the power play and again with the extra attacker with 65 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. Terrance Ferguson Jersey . He was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 5th. The 34-year-old Laval, Que. native has played six seasons with the Penguins. Jerami Grant Jersey .Mila Kunis was a guest on Kimmel last night and revealed a surprising side of herself that comes out when she watches sports. It turns out screaming something vulgar at professional athletes is therapeutic for Kunis.San Jose, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Chris Kreider tallied a goal and an assist as the New York Rangers capped a successful California road trip with a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. Martin St. Louis and Rick Nash also lit the lamp, Derek Stepan supplied two assists and Henrik Lundqvist made 30 saves for the Rangers, who started the trip out with a 4-1 win over Anaheim on Wednesday and topped the Kings 4-3 in a Stanley Cup rematch on Thursday. New York has won five straight games and 13 of its last 14 games. It is the teams best 14-game stretch since Jan. 7 to Feb. 10, 1973 (14-0-1). Melker Karlsson supplied San Joses lone marker to extend his goal streak to five games and Antti Niemi allowed two goals on 31 shots in defeat. The Rangers opened the scoring at 10:40 of the first period. Kreider swatted the puck to St. Louis off a faceoff at the left circle and St. Louis beat Niemi with a quick snap shot. Kreider got on the board less than five minutes later as he tapped home the rebound of Dan Girardis shot from the right circle for a 2-0 lead. Neither team lit the lamp in the middle stanza as the Rangers outshot the Sharks 11-9 in the frame.dddddddddddd Less than five minutes into the third, Niemi extended his arm to deny Mats Zucarello at the goal line. The play was reviewed to determine if the puck crossed the line, but after a prolonged look at the play, it was ruled that there was inconclusive evidence to overturn the call. Lundqvist fought off James Sheppards shot with a shoulder stop, but Karlsson was there to deposit the rebound for a power-play goal, making it a 2-1 game with 12:46 to play. The Sharks pulled Niemi with over a minute to play, and Nash stick handled through a maze of San Jose players for the game-sealing goal. Game Notes Nash tied Dallas Tyler Seguin for the league-lead in goals with 26 ... Lundqvist improved to 11-1-0 over his last 12 games between the pipes ... Rangers defenseman Dan Boyle played against the Sharks for the first time he signed with New York during the offseason. Boyle spent his previous six seasons with the Sharks ... Prior to the game, the Sharks activated forward Joe Thornton from injured reserve and placed defenseman Mirco Mueller on IR. 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