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Associated Press
- December 13, 2022 11:20
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Tears are flowing from football's biggest stars as they make an emotional exit from what could be their last World Cup.
First it was Neymar. Then Cristiano Ronaldo. Could Lionel Messi be the next star? Or maybe the moment is coming for Messi to win the biggest prize in football.
The 35-year-old footballer has led Argentina to the semi-finals, in much the same way that Diego Maradona - with whom Messi is often compared - led the South American country to its second and last World Cup title in 1986. On Argentina's path to the final is Croatia, the representative of a country with a population of 4 million inhabitants, which is building a reputation as the most "stubborn" and most stable opponent. Croatia boasts one of the best football players in its ranks, midfielder Luka Modric.
The representatives face each other at the "Lusail" stadium, in the meeting of the last two runners-up: Argentina in 2014 and Croatia in 2018.
The match Argentina - Croatia is played on Tuesday from 20:00.
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It could be expected that Argentina would be in this position. The team arrived at the World Cup as winners of the Copa America, on a 36-match unbeaten run and with Messi back in fantastic form at Paris Saint-Germain. Messi has continued this form in Qatar, where he has scored four goals so far.
"He is our leader, he leads us and motivates us. When we have Messi on the field, we have something more than the opponent. We are proud that Messi is our captain, as he will be the key in the triumph over Croatia", said the defender, Nicolas Taglafico, on Monday.
Meanwhile, the coach of Argentina, Lionel Scaloni, before talking about the duel with Croatia, has focused on the duel against the Netherlands. He rejected the criticism about the behavior of his players after the match, which went to penalties.
"We must forget this. We lost the first game against Saudi Arabia but we went away calmly and continued to prepare for the duels that awaited us. We respect the Netherlands, just as we respect Croatia," insisted Scaloni, who then spoke about Tuesday night's duel. "We are ready, but we are aware that it will not be easy at all. Of course, the goal is to go further, but it remains to be seen".
There was considerably less hype surrounding the Croatians, although they continue to surprise just as they did four years ago when reaching the final included a 3-0 win over Argentina in the group stage. They also reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in 1998.
Coach Zlatko Daliq said that the team's performances in Russia and Qatar are an inspiration for outsiders, like Morocco.
"Everyone in life has the right to dream and Croatia made this dream a reality for small countries four years ago. We have given these countries the right to dream. This makes us proud and of course it is something great to be among the four teams for the second World Cup in a row. But we want more than the semi-final", declared Daliq.
Both teams have had unpleasant moments in Qatar. Argentina's darkest moment came right at the start of the tournament, after a 2:1 loss to Saudi Arabia in what is considered one of the World Cup's biggest upsets. Inspired by Messi and one of the most fervent fans in Qatar, Argentina won their last two group games. It continued by defeating Australia 2:1 in the 1/8 finals and then via penalties also eliminated the Netherlands in a wild quarter-final match. Messi now has four goals in Qatar, one less than top scorer Kylian Mbappe. Messi and Mbappe are the two most outstanding players of the World Cup, who have so far lived up to expectations and confirmed their high reputation. Even Modriq is close by. He may not have scored a goal and has no assists. However, one should never underestimate the importance of the little magician for Croatia, who keeps control in the midfield and manages to lead a team that fights until the last minute.
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In 2018, each of Croatia's knockout matches went to extra time, before the Croatian team lost to France in the final. And the same thing is happening in Qatar. Croatia eliminated Japan in the 1/8 finals after penalties, as well as Brazil in the quarterfinals. Croatia looked more comfortable against Brazil than they did against Japan, showing that the team may be happier playing under pressure and picking their moments to advance, rather than controlling games and being more susceptible to counter-attacks. Stopping Messi will be key and much of the onus falls on midfielder Marcelo Brozovic, who helped Croatia's defense so much against Brazil. Argentina will be without two players for this match due to suspension, without left-back Marcos Acuna and right-back Gonzalo Montiel. Acuna is the biggest loss, having impressed since coming into the team after the loss to Saudi Arabia. He is expected to be replaced by Nicolas Tagliafico against Croatia.
"If we manage to win this match, then this will be the biggest match in the history of Croatia. We will do the same against Argentina, so we will give everything from ourselves", Daliq added.
