Argentina will meet Germany in the World Cup final – a repeat of their 1986 classic in Mexico and 1990 fizzer in Italy – after downing the Netherlands 4-2 on penalties following a goalless 120 minutes in Sao Paulo.

Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero was the hero in the shoot-out, pulling off brilliant saves from Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder to book his country’s place in the decider.

Sergio Romero dives to save from Wesley Sneijder. Photo: Getty

The first half was a stilted affair in which the defences were well on top, with the Dutch doing a great job of keeping Lionel Messi on the leash.

The latter stages of the second half finally saw some drama.

Argentine attacker Gonzalo Higuain hit the side-netting, while in the final minute of regular time Arjen Robben had a great chance to snatch a win but a desperate slide from Javier Mascherano blocked his effort.

Both teams again struggled to create clear-cut chances in extra-time, although Rodrigo Palacio squandered a great opportunity when he was clean through on goal, with his header tame and straight at Netherlands goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen.

Unlike their quarter-final win over Costa Rica, the Dutch could not bring on goalkeeper Tim Krul for the shoot-out, having used their three substitutions.

Vlaar stepped up first for the Dutch and saw his spot-kick saved brilliantly by Romero, diving low to his left, and Messi calmly slotted his to give Argentina the lead.

Romero pulled off another incredible save to deny Sneijder, diving high to his right, and when Maxi Rodriguez smashed his spot-kick past Cillessen, Argentina were through.

Argentina defeated the former West Germany 3-2 in the 1986 final and the Germans exacted revenge four years later with a 1-0 win in Rome.

Germany will be bidding to become the first European team to win a World Cup in South America.

Watch the winning penalty – #Argentina win against #Netherlands https://t.co/6avtSpyVRR #WorldCup #NEDARG #BRAGER

— Tom McKendrick (@tommckendrick) July 9, 2014