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Argentina's fans celebrate WC final berth

Thousands of Argentina fans in Brazil wept, kissed and raised their hands to the sky when their team beat the Netherlands 4-2 on penalty kicks, sending it to the World Cup final for the first time in more than two decades.

"God knows we suffered, but now everything is good," said a weeping fan Rodrigo Aisen, who sealed the semi-final win by giving his girlfriend a long kiss. "Everything is joy!"

The 23-year-old celebrated with 20,000 others in the FIFA Fan Fest watch party in Sao Paulo, following a tense match in which neither team scored until the penalty shoot-out.

Argentina and Germany will meet in Sunday's (Monday AEST) final.

"I had faith that they would win today," said Maribel Oviedo, 21, who two years ago had a lung transplant because of cystic fibrosis. Her twin sister died from the disease last year.

Her family travelled from Cordoba, Argentina, to see the World Cup, and Oviedo said making the final means more to her than any other sporting achievement.

"Seeing the team in these moments gives me goose bumps. It is something beautiful," she said.

In Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires, fans gathered clad in shirts and hats bearing the sky blue and white colours of their flag to celebrate the victory.

Fans said their team's victories at the World Cup have softened the financial struggles of the South American nation that finds itself teetering on the brink of another default on its foreign debts.

"Argentina deserved to have this joy because we are doing badly otherwise," said Norma Ontiveros, 59. "This way we can show that not everything is wrong. We have a solid team and good people."

For Brazilians, the hard-fought win by Argentina only rubbed salt in the wound of their own team's 7-1 semi-final defeat against Germany.

"If Argentina wins this Cup here in Brazil, we might as well just close the coffin," said Silvio Martines, 32. "You can bury Brazil. It would be our last blow."