Argentina vs Croatia: Will Messi shake off funk to inspire his side?
Argentina will be keen on redeeming themselves as they take on group leaders Croatia at the Stadion Nizhny Novgorod on Thursday evening.
La Albiceleste suffered a shock setback as they had to settle for a 1-1 draw with debutants Iceland, and to top it off, Lionel Messi missed a vital penalty. Meanwhile, Croatia managed to beat an ambitious, but young Nigerian side 2-0, and as a result, the Vatreni sit top of the table. Whilst Zlatko Dalic’s side didn’t score an actual goal from open play – their two goals were the result of an own goal from the Super Eagles and a penalty – they will be nonetheless happy to be sitting on top of Group D.
Another win for Croatia will seal their spot in the round of 16, whilst it will definitely spell the end of the road for Argentina if Iceland manage to beat Nigeria by a convincing score-line. That’s something that would be absolutely heartbreaking for Messi, his colleagues, and an entire nation as this will likely be his last chance at winning the World Cup.
Unfortunately, Argentina haven’t had the best luck in recent tournaments, as they finished as runners-up in their last three competitions. Croatia, by contrast, are enjoying the best start at a World Cup in 20 years and will be hoping to win back to back games in order to book their ticket to the round of 16.
The Vatreni have had some problems behind the scenes, despite sitting on top of their quartet. Striker Nikola Kalinic was shipped home after refusing to come on as a substitute for Mario Mandzukic. Ironically, that works out for Mandzukic, who now is the only striker remaining in the team.
Nonetheless, the Croatians are full of confidence. They smell blood in the water, and like sharks, will be looking to deliver a knockout blow against an Argentinian side reeling following their negative result against Iceland. Certainly, they would have studied Iceland’s game plan and will look to emulate the same result, and they know the pressure on Messi is on. By contrast, whilst Luka Modric arguably is the star man in this squad, Croatia aren’t a team who are overly dependent on just one player, which means that everyone is under the same glare of the media spotlight.
Portugal, like Argentina, are largely reliant on a star player, but so far, Cristiano Ronaldo has been able to rise to the occasion. Will Messi be able to use this as a motivating factor, or will he crumble under the pressure? Meanwhile, Croatia will aim to punch their ticket to the knockout rounds, and 90 minutes could prove to be the deciding factor.
