World Cup semi-final: Argentina vs. Croatia prediction, preview and team news
Both Argentina and Croatia needed penalty shoot-out victories to reach the semi-finals of the Fifa World Cup – and this match at Lusail Stadium has the potential to go the distance again.
Lionel Messi and Luka Modric, the captains and No.10s of Argentina and Croatia respectively, could well hold the key to unlocking their opponents’ defence. But should they breach the backline they will then face two of the tournament’s top goalkeepers.
Argentina keeper Emiliano Martinez made two saves in the shoot-out win over the Netherlands. While Croatia stopper Dominik Livakovic made one penalty save against Brazil, adding to the three that he made against Japan in the round of 16 shoot-out.
Messi, who has scored four goals so far at Qatar 2022, will no doubt be Argentina’s main attacking threat. There’s also the added storyline of the 35-year-old aiming to win a first World Cup in what is his fifth and final tournament.
Croatia, who are looking to reach their second successive World Cup final, will “need to guard” against the Argentina star, but they have “nothing to fear”, said head coach Zlatko Dalic. He told Fifa+ that his team won’t man-mark Messi “in a player-on-player style”, as they didn’t do that in their last meeting against Neymar and Brazil.
“We know how much he runs, how much he likes to play with the ball at his feet and the key to our defensive phase will be discipline,” Dalic added. “If we repeat the same thing as against Brazil, which is that we are close [to him], that we stand by the player, we have nothing to fear.”
The winners of this match will return to the Lusail Stadium for Sunday’s Fifa World Cup final where they will face France or Morocco.
Match facts
- Who: Argentina vs. Croatia
- What: Fifa World Cup semi-final
- When: Tuesday 13 December 2022
- Where: Lusail Stadium
- Kick-off time: 7pm (all times GMT)
How to watch on TV in the UK
Tuesday’s semi-final clash between Argentina and Croatia will be shown live in the UK on ITV1. TV coverage begins at 6.15pm and the match kicks off at 7pm.
Croatia players celebrate their shoot-out victory over Brazil
Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Team news
Argentina full-backs Marcos Acuna and Gonzalo Montiel are both suspended, so Nicolas Tagliafico should come in on the left while Nahuel Molina will continue on the right. Winger Angel Di Maria came off the bench against the Netherlands, and his fitness could be a key factor in whether head coach Lionel Scaloni “opts for a four- or five-man defence”, said Marc Mayo in the London Evening Standard. Papu Gomez missed the quarter-final with an ankle knock and remains a doubt.
Article source: https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/sport/football/958855/world-cup-semi-final-argentina-vs-croatia-prediction-preview