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Argentina
3
Match Complete
Croatia
0
| N. Otamendi |  | 71' | ||
| J. ??lvarez |  | 69' | ||
| C. Romero | | 68' | ||
| J. ??lvarez | | 39' | ||
| L. Messi | | 34' | ||
| 32' | | M. Kovacic | ||
| 32' | | D. Livakovic |
| 8 | Shots | 12 | ||
| 6 | On Target | 2 | ||
| 15 | Fouls | 7 | ||
| 2 | Corners | 4 | ||
| 1 | Offsides | 0 | ||
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 | ||
| 2 | Yellow Cards | 2 |
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All eyes will be on Lionel Messi and his Argentina team, as it faces a tough Croatia outfit in the World Cup semi-final in Lusail, Qatar. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 6am (AEDT).
Just one step remains for both Argentina and Croatia, as they seek to advance to the final match of the 2022 World Cup and a chance at football immortality.
Whilst the emotion will be riding the journey of Messi and his quest for a first world championship that would cap the most brilliant of careers, Croatia will also enjoy a fair portion of support and feel confident after their appearance in the 2018 final against the French.
The South Americans will enter the contest as favourites with the presence of Messi, Julian Alvarez and Enzo Fernandez making them a tough team to defend against, despite the world believing that the depth across the squad is a little weak and potentially to be exposed at the pointy end of the tournament.
Both the Netherlands and Australia pushed Argentina to the brink in the knock-out phase, with only penalties seeing them through against the Dutch in a memorable quarter-final on Sunday morning (AEDT).
Croatia stunned Brazil in the quarter-finals, after also winning on penalties against Japan in the round of 16. In the group stage, draws were earned against Morocco and Belgium and the sole win against Canada now stands as their only victory inside normal time. Yet who would write off a team with Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic, Mateo Kovacic and Dejan Lovren in its ranks?
This shapes up as the most gripping and tense of semi-finals, with Croatia’s record in the tight ones potentially serving them well heading into a match that could well be fought in the clinches. Should Messi fire, there may be no force able to stop him and if Angel Di Maria does make an appearance for Argentina, the balance could well shift in their favour.
Prediction
From what I have seen in the tournament thus far, Croatia will win this match. Argentina have been stretched late in almost every game and the Croatian determination, fitness and resilience could well see them storming home in the second half.
The best chance Argentina has is to gap the Europeans early and set up a solid and unassailable lead. However, it looks more likely that Croatia will be heading to their second World Cup final in succession.
Venue: Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar
Kick-off: 6am (AEDT)
TV: SBS
Live stream: SBS On Demand
Odds: Argentina $1.88; draw $3.25; Croatia $4.55 – odds via PlayUp
Squads
Argentina
Emiliano Martinez, Geronimo Rulli, Franco Armani, Nahuel Molina, Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, German Pezzella, Nicolas Otamendi, Lisandro Martinez, Marcos Acuna, Nicolas Tagliafico, Juan Foyth, Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister, Guido Rodriguez, Papu Gomez, Enzo Fernandez, Exequiel Palacios, Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria, Lautaro Martinez, Julian Alvarez, Paulo Dybala, Angel Correa, Thiago Almada
Croatia
Dominik Livaković, Ivica Ivušić, Ivo Grbić, Domagoj Vida, Dejan Lovren, Borna Barišić, Josip Juranović, Joško Gvardiol, Borna Sosa, Josip Stanišić Martin Erlić, Josip Šutalo, Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovačić, Marcelo Brozović, Mario Pašalić, Nikola Vlašić, Lovro Majer, Kristijan Jakić, Luka Sučić, Ivan Perišić, Andrej Kramarić, Bruno Petković, Mislav Oršić, Ante Budimir, Marko Livaja
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