Argentina’s Lionel Messi and The Netherlands’ Andre Ooijer in action during their group C match in Frankfurt on Wednesday. (AP)

Argentina’s dazzling display against Serbia & Montenegro had mesmerised the world and left football lovers craving for more. As a coach, I knew an encore wouldn’t materialise, at least in the game against The Netherlands.

Having already sealed a last-16 slot, Pekerman realised it was time to consolidate rather than show off. It was also time to test the bench strength.

And so, we saw Argentina going into Wednesday night’s match without many of their regulars. There was no Sorin and Heinze in defence, while marksmen Crespo and Saviola were missing up front.

Tevez and Messi, who both scored the previous day as second-half substitutes, were given a start. They didn’t disappoint. The young Messi, who has a potent left foot, showed a lot of thrust especially in the first half. His start-up acceleration and dribbling skills gave the Dutch defence several trying moments.

Tevez showed his explosive quality and a knack to produce sharp shots. One of his attempts brought the best out of experienced goalkeeper Van der Sar. Tevez looked more dangerous as the game wore on.

The Argentine show was once again orchestrated by Riquelme. He was always in command when the ball was on his feet. He also showed himself to be a master of dead-ball situations, in the same league as Beckham. The Argentine is a trifle slow but that doesn’t deter him from calling the shots from the middle of the park.

The Dutch, like the Argentines not having to worry about qualification, also rested some key players including Robben. They were often exposed on the right side of their defence, but otherwise coped well with the Argentine pressure.

A couple of times in the first session and quite often in the final half hour, the Dutch posed the Argentine backline a few questions with Dirk Kuyt and Van der Vaart spelling danger with their speed.

Neither side went all out and pushed too many men up front for obvious reasons, but the Argentine dominance was never in doubt. It was also crystal clear that the Argentines have the stronger bench-strength, perhaps the strongest in the tournament.

Pekerman, in fact, will have some hard decisions to make before the pre-quarter final face-off with Mexico. He has four forwards all in decent form from which only two can play. If I were in his shoes, I would stick to Crespo and Saviola rather than starting with Tevez and Messi.

The younger pair may have more flair and energy, but they are still inexperienced in high-pressure situations and also a bit individualistic. Tevez or Messi, or both, can be introduced in the second session depending on how the game is going.

Mexico will have nothing to lose when they clash with Argentina. They have some good players in Rafael Marquez, Jose Fonseca and Omar Bravo, who can surprise any opposition on their day. But I would still say that Mexico will have to play out of their skins to topple Argentina.

The Netherlands versus Portugal match will be a very close affair. Both love playing attacking football, so the onus will be on the two backlines to stand up to the pressure. Predicting a winner is a tough call.

I feel Portugal have their nose in front ever so slightly. If you want it to be translated into numbers, it’s 52-48 in favour of Figo’s army, but the Dutch have the ability to bridge that narrow gap.

In Thursday's edition of Talking Tactics, it was inadvertently mentioned that Portugal needed to top the group to avoid a possible second-round clash with Brazil. It actually should have been Argentina.