Modric-inspired Croatia stand in Messi's World Cup dream

In Doha

One player is searching for ultimate football greatness while one team is chasing after its first ever world title.

Argentina, captained by Messi, face Croatia in the first semi-final of the 2022 Qatar World Cup at the gigantic Lusail stadium that could well accommodate over 88,000 spectators on Tuesday.

The main talking points for this mouthwatering tie have been about whether record seven Ballon d’Or winner and recent Copa America champion Lionel Messi will go on and win the one title that has eluded him all his career, and if little Croatia will make a second successive final appearance?

Argentina coach Lionel Scolani tried to play down the story of Messi successfully crowning his career in Qatar.

“We will keep enjoying seeing Messi play. If things turn out well for him the whole country will be happy. But that is still a long way away. We are only concentrating on the next game against Croatia,” he said at a match day press conference in Doha.

The two nations are evenly matched in their head-to-head meetings, with two wins apiece and one draw.

Argentina beat Croatia 1-0 in their first World Cup meeting in France 1998 while Croatia got ample revenge in Russia 2018 thumping the South Americans 3-0 with Luka Modric among their scorers. Both matches were in the group stages.

Scolani again dismissed any talk of Argentina, beaten only once in their last 41 internationals, seeking revenge against the Croatians.

“We should not make comparisons to the last meeting. Every game is different. The teams are different. Our only objective is winning the match,” he said.

Argentina will be without full back Marcos Acuna and defender Gonzalo Montiel, who are suspended for the match after yellow card accumulations. But they will have a fit Angel Di Maria who came in as a late substitute against the Netherlands in their round of 16.

Messi, on four goals in Qatar, one shy of tournament top scorer Kylian Mbappe of France, will again lead the Albicelestes as they continue with their 32-year quest for world glory.

Croatia, who have lost only one of their last 12 World Cup matches, are also hungry for the title.

“We know we will be up against a very motivated team that has Messi. We are the four best national teams in the world for the second successive World Cup. We want more," said Modric. “Qualifying for the final would make this match our greatest.”

Modric, despite being 37 has shown his staying power here in Qatar and the Croatians, their resilience after winning their round of 16 and quarter-final on emotion-draining spot kicks.

Eliminating Brazil in the quarters will have given Croatia the confidence to fancy a victory against Argentina and their huge following here in Qatar.

“They (Argentina) are under more pressure to win. They have very good support here. We only have a few fans. But this will not distract us and we will play to the best of our abilities,” said Dalić.

One historical fact favours the South Americans. They have won all the four semi-finals they have appeared in – against the USA in 1930 (6-1), Belgium in 1986 (2-0), Italy in 1990 (1-1, 4-3 on penalties) and the Netherlands in 2014 (0-0, 4-2 on penalties).