Hundreds of soccer fans stayed up late yesterday morning to watch the FIFA World Cup semi-final between Argentina and the Netherlands at restaurants and bars across Taipei.
About 200 locals and foreigners sat at Argentinian restaurant Gaucho to watch the match, which lasted more than two hours and culminated with los Albicelestes beating the Netherlands 4-2 in a penalty shootout to reach the final in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“I feel awesome,” said Bob Kuo, a 30-year-old Taiwanese fan of the Argentine side.
Kuo and several of his friends said they took the morning off work to watch the game, which began at 4am local time, and show their support for Argentina.
Among those watching was Debora Michelmann from Argentina, who was so happy about the results that she cried as she hugged her son.
Despite Argentina’s victory over the Netherlands, Michelmann — who is visiting her son in Taiwan — said both teams played a “slow” match.
The penalty shootout was required after the game held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, ended in a 0-0 draw at the end of extra time.
However, another Taiwanese fan, Andrez Chen, viewed the game differently, praising Argentina’s defense during the match.
“I am very excited,” he said. “Although it will be a tough fight with Germany in the final, I am confident that Argentina will win.”
In the other semi-final match a day earlier, Germany thrashed Brazil 7-1 in one of the most humiliating defeats in the host nation team’s history.
Meanwhile, about 100 soccer fans gathered next door at The Three Lions Inn bar, a dozen of whom were clad in orange to root for the Netherlands.
“I am a diehard fan, so I am pretty sad, but it’s OK, I think they still did very well,” said Hank Huang, 28, who came to watch the match with a group of friends.
There were many young players on the Dutch team this year, so they should be applauded for coming this far, Huang said, adding that he cannot wait to see what they can accomplish in the next World Cup.
Tyler Siu, a 22-year-old Hong Kong student in Taiwan, said he was “a little disappointed” at the result, but was impressed by the Argentina goalkeeper’s performance in the penalty shootout.
“It was an exciting match,” he said.
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