Croatia will face Argentina in the 2022 Qatar World Cup semifinals tonight, hoping to reach the tournament’s final for the second time in a row after losing to defending champion France in 2018.
Argentina and Croatia have met twice in the World Cup group stage, with the latter winning 1-0 in 1998 and the former winning 3-0 in the 2018 Russia edition, the last time they met at the global showpiece.
In the semi-final, the two will meet for the first time, with Argentina heading into this match with a record of never having been eliminated from the World Cup in the final four.
All eyes at the Lusail Stadium will be on 36-year-old forward Lionel Messi, who will try to lead Argentina to the final for the second time in eight years against the 2018 runners-up.
Messi, who lost to Germany in the 2014 final, is desperate to cap off an incredible career by emulating another Argentine legend, the late Diego Maradona, who won the trophy in 1986.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward was a key figure in last Friday’s stormy quarterfinal win over the Netherlands, in which a record 18 yellow cards were shown to players from both sides.
Meanwhile, Croatia has not won a knockout game in normal time at a major tournament since the 1998 World Cup.
They beat Japan and pre-tournament favorites Brazil in penalty shootouts to make it to the final four and they will look to make it to the final and seek redemption.
Luka Modric will be the man to watch for the Croats as he will also aim at hanging his international with a World Cup trophy to his name having guided his country to the final at the previous edition.
PREDICTION, BETTING TIP, AND ODDS
Both teams have shown a hunger for success in this competition. They will both fight tooth and nail. This match could go either way. Try Double chance 12@1.35 for either team to win.
