Argentina vs Croatia: Argentina will face Croatia on December 12, 2022, in the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup. Croatia will look to make it back-to-back finals after losing 4-1 to France in Russia 2018 final.
Both teams qualified for the 2022 Qatar World Cup semi-finals through penalties; Argentina knocked out the Netherlands and Croatia defeated Brazil.
Match Preview
Argentina’s last match against the Netherlands was a very entertaining one and was characterized by drama and intensity.
Lionel Messi provided an assist and scored a penalty to put the Albiceleste ahead of the Dutch, but Louis Van Gaal’s tactical change gave the Netherlands fans hope after Wout Weghorst scored a good header.
In the 100th minute, the Netherlands got a foul at the edge of Argentina’s box, and Weghorst forced the unlikeliest of extra time periods.
The match was so intense that it ended with 17 yellow cards, and players were throwing abuses at themselves.
Argentina has never been eliminated in the semi-finals, and the closest they came to winning the trophy in recent times was against Germany in 2014.
Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic denied Brazil with 11 saves before Neymar scored in the extra minute, but Croatia did not give up on sending Brazil out, as Bruno Petkovic scored in the 117th minute to send the ball into penalty. Livakovic saved Rodrygo’s penalty, and Marquinho’s effort hit the goal post.
In 2018, Croatia reached the World Cup final without winning a single knockout game, and they are likely to repeat history. The team is currently unbeaten in 11 matches.
Team News
The semi-finals will be played without Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuna. Acuna will be a great miss for the Argentines because of his work rate at left back.
Recall that Acuna won penalty for his country against Netherland. Nicolas Tagliafico is likely to play a role in the left back position in the absence of Acuna.
Alejandro Gomez is currently dealing with an ankle sprain, but Rodrigo De Paul and Angel Di Maria are expected to be fit against Croatia.
As for Croatia, the team is blessed with a fully fit squad, and the manager should be working with all their players.
Prediction
We are likely to see another extra period and likely penalties. However, Argentina is in the best position to make it to the final to play against either Morocco or France. Argentina 4-3 Croatia on penalties
Head to Head
Croatia won two, lost twice, and drew one of their five meetings against Argentina. The first international friendly match between the two teams took place on June 4, 1994, and ended in a tie.
The first world cup meeting between the two was on June 26, 1998, when Argentina defeated Croatia by a goal. In addition, the last meeting was on June 21, 2018, when Croatia won by three goals to nil.
Argentina possible starting lineup:
E. 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
