The World Cup semi-finals are here! Let’s get over that England defeat and treasure the final few games of this tournament, as either Argentina, Croatia, France or Morocco will be crowned kings of the world. Tonight, it is the first semi-final, and a certain Lionel Messi is in action, looking to keep his dream alive.
Argentina v Croatia - Semi-final
Where: Lusail Stadium, Lusail
When: 7pm (GMT) / 10pm (AST)
TV: BBC One, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website
Last meeting: Argentina 0-3 Croatia (Nizhny Novgorod, 2018 World Cup)
Argentina’s knockout results: Won 2-1 v Australia in normal time, Drew 2-2 v Netherlands (won on penalties).
Croatia’s knockout results: Won 3-1 on penalties against Japan, Drew 1-1 v Brazil (won on penalties).
Argentina squad: 1 Franco Armani, 2 Juan Foyth, 3 Nicolas Tagliafico, 4 Gonzalo Montiel, 5 Leandro Paredes, 6 Gaston Pezzella, 7 Rodrigo De Paul, 8 Marcos Acuna, 9 Julian Alvarez, 10 Lionel Messi, 11 Angel Di Maria, 12 Geronimo Rulli, 13 Cristian Romero, 14 Exequiel Palacios, 15 Angel Correa, 16 Joaquin Correa, 17 Alejandro Gomez, 18 Guido Rodriguez, 19 Nicolas Otamendi, 20 Alexis Mac Allister, 21 Paulo Dybala, 22 Lautaro Martinez, 23 Emiliano Martinez, 24 Enzo Fernandez, 25 Lisandro Martinez, 26 Nahuel Molina
Croatia squad: 1 Dominik Livakovic, 2 Josip Stanisic, 3 Borna Barisic, 4 Ivan Perisic, 5 Martin Erlic, 6 Dejan Lovren, 7 Lovro Majer, 8 Mateo Kovacic, 9 Andrej Kramaric, 10 Luka Modric, 11 Marcelo Brozovic, 12 Ivo Grbic, 13 Nikola Vlasic, 14 Marko Livaja, 15 Mario Pasalic, 16 Bruno Petkovic, 17 Ante Budimir, 18 Mislav Orsic, 19 Borna Sosa, 20 Josko Gvardiol, 21 Domagoj Vida, 22 Josip Juranovic, 23 Ivica Ivusic, 24 Josip Sutalo, 25 Luka Susic, 26 Kristijan Jakic
Preview:
Well, here we are, the final four. All the focus will once again be on Messi as he attempts to lead Argentina to World Cup glory and now, he is just two games away. But Lionel Scalone’s men threw away a two-goal lead against The Netherlands and needed a penalty shootout to make it to this stage. In their late comeback, Louis van Gaal’s side offered a blueprint of how to get at Argentina - direct football.
La Albiceleste’s defence simply couldn’t cope with Wout Weghorst and the long ball, which could give Croatia hope as they look to inflict another World Cup defeat on Argentina. Zlatko Dalić’s side beat them 3-0 in the last edition’s group stage but have struggled in front of goal this tournament, having got to this stage via two penalty shootouts.
But their defence is solid and they have the experience to go all the way. The 2018 finalists have retained much of that squad, with Luka Modric still pulling the strings in midfield at 37. Writing them off would be, as we have seen so far, stupid. Eight of their last nine World Cup knockout matches have gone to extra-time and their display against Brazil showed just how difficult they are to play against. They will fancy their chances against another South American giant.
Sportsman stat: Argentina are looking to reach the World Cup final for the sixth time and have never lost a World Cup semi-final.
Betfred match odds: Argentina 10/11, draw 23/10, Croatia 19/5
Favourites for first goalscorer: Lionel Messi (Argentina) 3/1, Julian Alvarez (Argentina) 11/2, No goalscorer 11/2.
Featured bet: Lionel Messi 3+ shots on target 5/2
To qualify: Argentina 4/11, Croatia 2/1
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject To Change
