Argentina vs Croatia: Will Messi or Modric be the protagonists?
Argentina and Croatia will battle for a coveted spot in the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals when the two sides lock horns on Tuesday evening. Both teams come into this match having endured a difficult quarter-finals match, with both Argentina and Croatia having to settle their respective ties against Netherlands and Brazil on spot-kicks. For Croatia, it brings back reminders of 2018, when again, the Vatreni defeated Denmark and then surprise quarter-finalists Russia via penalties before defeating England in extra time to make it to their first World Cup final.
The victories against Japan, and most recently, Brazil, means that Croatia have won four World Cup games via penalties, matching a record set by Germany. In beating Brazil, a team widely viewed as heavy favorites to win the title this year, the Vatreni continue to show that their success from 2018 was not just a fluke, and that Zlatko Dalic’s side should be taken seriously as major competitors who are more than capable at holding their own against the world’s biggest sides.
Having seen off the all-time World Cup champions, Croatia certainly will be full of confidence that they can do likewise to Argentina, who are the reigning Copa America winners. After all, the Vatreni have beaten Argentina before – four years ago, during the 2018 World Cup group stages, they cruised to was then viewed as a huge shocking 3-0 victory. Hence, facing Lionel Messi and his colleagues is not something that is likely to faze Dalic’s team, who will be hoping, after losing 4-2 to France in the final four years ago, to go one step further and place themselves on the winners’ podium in what appears to be star man Luka Modric’s last World Cup.
Meanwhile, Argentina started this competition off on the worst possible note as they were shockingly beaten 2-1 by Saudi Arabia. However, that loss appears to have sparked Lionel Scaloni’s side, who defeated both Mexico and Poland to qualify top of their group. While they were not at their very best as Australia managed to snatch a goal, the South American giants were able to snuff out any desperate attempts the Socceroos made at staging what would have been a shock comeback.
Despite Messi receiving his fair share of plaudits as the key protagonist of his team, Argentina are not immune to criticism. Their defense has raised major concerns, especially considering how they went from 2-0 up to allow the Netherlands to score two and push the match to penalties. The heroics of shot-stopper Emiliano Martinez proved to be the decisive factor, saving two penalties that helped Argentina book their spot in their first semi-finals since 2014.
On paper, some would automatically give Argentina the advantage, but Croatia’s performance at this year’s World Cup is indicative that this could be a much closer contested match. For starters, both sides have players who have won the Ballon d’Or, with Modric becoming the first player other than Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi to win it in well over a decade. Messi, as we all know, has a record seven titles to his name, and definitely would put himself in good stead to make it eight should he be able to lead his team to glory this year in Qatar.
The two sides’ results are split pretty evenly down the middle. Croatia, to date, have won twice, including their 3-0 victory from four years ago, while Argentina have two victories and one match, played back in 1994, finished as a scoreless stalemate.
With Croatia already having had to play back to back games that resulted in penalties, the Vatreni certainly will be hoping to finally settle a knockout match within 90 minutes. Yet, having shown their fortitude from 12 yards out, Dalic’s side certainly will not be fearing the prospect of having to match wits against another tournament favorite – whether it takes 90 minutes, 120 minutes, or longer. Meanwhile, Argentina, having come up short over the decades, will be hoping that this year will finally be the year they end the years of frustration and heartbreak on the world’s biggest footballing stage.
