Four Men Who Will Decide Argentina, Croatia Match

Argentina and Croatia are heading for the semi-finals for a place in the FIFA World Cup final.

Lionel Messi who was once at the finals in 2014, but lost to Germany is leading his side for a possible final attempt before retirement.

Luka Modric 37, will also lead Croatia who are also targeting their second consecutive final in the World Cup.

Croatia were a finalist in 2018 but they lost to France 4-2. But Modric has his last chance to lift the World Cup just like Messi.

Argentina and Croatia have a head-to-head record of five meetings with Argentina winning two while Croatia also won 2. Their first meeting ended in a draw.

The biggest win was when Croatia beat Argentina in the 2018 World Cup group stages 3-0.

In Qatar, both teams went through tough opposition in the quarter-finals to get to the semi-finals.

Argentina beat the Netherlands on penalties, while Croatia defeated Brazil on penalties to escape.

Lionel Messi

Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, Messi has scored twice against Croatia in 2006 and 2012 and he is projected to be the game changer for Argentina.

The Argentine captain is eyeing his last chance to win the prestigious tournament.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward has scored five in the 2022 World Cup and is looking to break Gabriel Batistuta’s record of 10 goals. Both are currently on the same level.

Messi has scored four and given decisive assists and contributed to most of Argentina’s goals from the start of the tournament.

He provided an assist against the Netherlands and scored before heading to the penalties on Friday.

Luka Modric

Modric has a record of being the player who broke Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Ballon d’Or hegemony in December 2018.

He also played in the Croatian team that defeated Messi-led Argentina 3-0 in the group stages of the 2018 World Cup.

In Qatar, Modric led Croatia through the Group F and dumped Japan in the round of 16 and tournament favourites Brazil in the quarter-finals.

The Croatian captain is yet to score in Qatar but he is the man behind the magic.

Dominik Livakovic

The 27-year-old Livakovic has 39 caps for Croatia. In Qatar, the Dinamo Zagreb player has kept 2 clean sheets and has conceded only 3 goals.

He was the star of Croatia’s knockout-stage victories on penalties over Japan and Brazil.

After his performance against Brazil, he become the 15th player in the history of French sports newspaper L’Equipe to be awarded a 10/10 rating.

Emiliano Martinez

Martinez is one of the inspiring goalkeepers that inspired the World Cup.

The 30-year-old Argentine keeper has 24 caps for his country. In Qatar, he has 2 clean sheets and has conceded 5 goals.

Martinez has only been on the losing side once in his 24 Argentina appearances which was when they lost to Saudi Arabia 2-1 in the group stage of the World Cup.

He is known for being clinical in unsettling spot-kick takers.