Thousands of jubilant Argentines spilled into the streets Wednesday to celebrate their national team's 4-2 win against the Netherlands in the World Cup semifinals.

The match, which went into penalty shootouts, had fans sitting on the edge of their seats for more than two hours.

Afterwards, in the capital Buenos Aires, fans dressed in the team's colors, white and sky blue, converged on the Obelisk Monument downtown to cheer and celebrate Argentina's advance to the final on July 13 at Rio de Janeiro's legendary Maracana Stadium.

Football fans around the country weren't the only ones celebrating. Entire families came out to join in the festivities.

Argentina had not made it to a World Cup final since the 1990 Italy games, when the South American team lost 1-0 to Germany, its rival at Sunday's final.

After Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero blocked two penalties by the Dutch for a 4-2 win, Argentines everywhere, including those watching the game at the Sao Paulo stadium, burst into tears of joy.

Argentina goes into the final with an unbeaten run including five wins and a tie, but it will be facing a strong Germany, which on Tuesday pummeled host Brazil 7-1.