Lionel Messi and Luka Modric would once more be rivals; the driving forces behind Barcelona and Real Madrid in one of football’s greatest club rivalries, Messi is no longer in Catalunya to the dismay of many. The aspirations of both countries to get to yet another World Cup final are now at stake as they square up in another fierce encounter at the magnificent Lusail Stadium.
Both Messi in 2014 and Modric’s heartbreak (2018) were closer but ultimately fell short. Since then, they have matured, and their games have changed.
Modric, who may be bothered by the years of those aches and pains, can scarcely make it through an entire game but still controls Croatian play in tandem with Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic in the midfield. The trio regained possession 21 times, operating as a wall in front of its defense to prevent the Brazilians from causing difficulties in the vital final third. The 37-year-old completed 103 of his 115 passes attempted (the most by a player in the quarterfinal vs Brazil).
“The best Croatian midfield in history belongs to Mateo, Luka, and Marcelo. It can’t, in my opinion, be done again. Defender Josip Juranovic claimed that passing the ball to someone is safer than putting your money in a bank. “I don’t believe we need to be afraid of anyone. To be at our best, we must examine ourselves. We are successful because of our unity and camaraderie, in my opinion. the way we interact and have fun as a family.”
In order to give their leader a little more room, Messi’s teammates sprint, tackle, and jostle. Messi, too, has changed and waits for his opportunity. He is now experiencing the World Cup of his dreams at age 35. Similar to how Diego Maradona raised Argentina in 1986, his crucial interventions—the pass to Nahuel Molina against the Dutch or Harry Souttar’s goal through the legs of Australia—have elevated a collection of average stars.
Leo, who serves as our leader and motivates and pushes us, provides us this distinct advantage.
We are motivated by the fact that Messi is on the field with us. The player who will replace Marcos Acuna, who was suspended after earning two bookings, Nicolas Tagliafico, stated, “And we all try to work in the same direction and accomplish it with Messi on our side.
With a population of four million, Croatia has already accomplished the remarkable, and the arrival of GBP 70 million center back Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig has bolstered its defense even more. Dominik Livakovic, Croatia’s goalkeeper, blocked Rodrygo’s penalty against Brazil and made 11 saves overall to advance Croatia to consecutive semifinals in the quadrennial competition. They will provide a tenacious rear-guard that will be challenging to breach, making life terrible for Argentina. Without winning any of its knockout games in regulation time during the 2018 World Cup, Zlatko Dalic’s team advanced to the championship match. They hope to repeat the feat in 2019.
However, since adding Julian Alvarez up front, Argentina has been more coordinated in attack. Enzo Fernandez has also had an impact and had the most forward movements (51) in the victory over the Netherlands.
- Argentina has lost only one of its last 41 international matches (W28 D12)
- Eight of Argentina’s last 14 FIFA World Cup knockout-stage matches against European nations have required extra-time
- Lionel Messi will join Lothar Matthäus as the joint record appearance-maker in FIFA World Cup history if he plays here in what would be his 25th match
- Argentina has never lost a World Cup semifinal
- Croatia has lost only one of its last 12 FIFA World Cup matches (W5 D6)
- Croatia has been successful in eight of its ten FIFA World Cup knockout-stage ties
- Five of Croatia’s last six FIFA World Cup knockout-stage matches have gone into extra-time
- The teams are evenly matched historically, both in terms of overall matches, with two wins apiece and one draw, and at the FIFA World Cup, with one group-stage victory each. Argentina prevailed 1-0 in 1998 while Croatia won 3-0 in 2018
Coach Lionel Scaloni would have more alternatives if fit-again Rodrigo De Paul and Angel Di Maria were available. Scaloni is anticipated to choose a back four after employing a 5-3-2 system against the Dutch. “Both players have trained and are in good shape. and we’ll need to determine the number of minutes they can play,” he said.
After his thrilling equalizer against Brazil, Dalic might be tempted to start Bruno Petkovic in place of Andrej Kramaric, but Croatia’s game plan has always been to go all the way and rely on Livakovic’s heroics.
Coach Lionel Scaloni would have more alternatives if fit-again Rodrigo De Paul and Angel Di Maria were available. Scaloni is anticipated to choose a back four after employing a 5-3-2 system against the Dutch. “Both players have trained and are in good shape. and we’ll need to determine the number of minutes they can play,” he said.
After his thrilling equalizer against Brazil, Dalic might be tempted to start Bruno Petkovic in place of Andrej Kramaric, but Croatia’s game plan has always been to go all the way and rely on Livakovic’s heroics.
