While endeavoring to glitter the hopes to make it through back-to-back FIFA Finals, Croatia will face another South American side Argentina in the first Semi-Final on Tuesday at Lusail Iconic Stadium.
Notably, both teams settled their composures during nervy quarter-finals, primarily due to their penalty prowess, as Zlatko Dalic’s line up outshined Brazil on shootouts moments before La Albiceleste defeated the Netherlands in a similar scenario.
The Messi-led Albiceleste was strolling through the quarterfinals when Nahuel Molina and the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner scored one each before Wout Weghorst’s goal, and an extra-minute equalizer made it necessary for another Penalty Shootout.
While keeping their nerves under control despite witnessing 17 yellow cards show and a few brawls, the South American side calmly netted the ball four times and ensured their fourth appearance in the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup.
It is pertinent to mention that Argentina holds a fascinating playing record in the last 4’s, as they have progressed to the Finals every time they made it this far. Their most recent outing, meanwhile, was in 2014, when Germany triumphed over them.
In contrast, the Croatian side displayed a notorious performance against Brazil, especially in the last few minutes of the game. The deadlock between Croatia and Brazil remained tied until Neymar scored in the 106th minute, but Bruno Petkovic scored an equalizer in the 117th minute, settling another shootout.
The Checkered Ones are unbeaten in the previous eleven matches, injecting inspiring motions inside them. Of course, they are the runner-ups of the 2018 FIFA, and if they defeat Argentina, they will become the third European nation to reach back-to-back Finals.
In the spotlight, the Argentina squad was placed in group C alongside Poland, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. Despite losing the opening match to the Arab Nation, the Messi-inspired lineup managed to finish on top with six points.
During the tournament’s campaign, the La Albiceleste’s men lost their first match against Saudi Arabia by 2-1, followed by back-to-back victories against Mexico by 0-2 and Poland by 2-0. In the knockouts, Argentina outshined Australia by 2-1 and then beat the Netherlands in the quarter-finals on shootouts.
On the other hand, the Checkered Ones have displayed decent and neat performances throughout the FIFA World Cup, and they haven’t lost any game in the tournament so far. The team was placed in group F alongside Morocco, Belgium, and Canada.
Croatia ended in second place with five points in their respective group. Starting their event’s journey, they faced Morocco in the opening clash, and the game closed on a goalless draw. In the 2nd match, Croatia defeated Canada by 1-4, followed by another draw against Belgium.
In the knockout match, Croatia claimed victory over Japan on a penalty shot, while they repeated a similar show against Brazil in the quarter-finals, eliminating the five-time champions on penalty shootouts with 2-4 scores.
Argentina possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Tagliafico; Fernandez, De Paul, Mac Allister; Di Maria, Messi, Alvarez
Croatia possible starting lineup:
Livakovic; Juranovic, Gvardiol, Lovren, Sosa; Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic; Pasalic, Kramaric, Perisic
