Argentina and Croatia live a heart attack duel for the final

Argentina and Croatia live a heart attack duel for the final

Pulse between Messi and Modric for being able to perfect their careers

MADRID, 12 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Argentina and Croatia seek this Tuesday (20:00) in Lusail (Qatar) a place in the World Cup final, in a close duel between two teams with serious aspirations and led by Leo Messi and Luka Modric, both in a position to fight to continue aspiring to crown their careers with the World Cup scepter.

The first ticket to the Qatar 2022 grand final is at stake. And fighting for him is an Argentina that suffered against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals -- winning the penalty shootout after being drawn 2-0 -- and a Croatia that is also subscribed, and with good luck, to the maximum penalty shootout.

The Croats knocked out one of the big favourites, Brazil, in the quarterfinals on penalties and previously beat Japan in the same way. With a hero dressed in green and defending the goal; Dominik Livakovic. And not only for stopping penalties in the shootouts, but for being decisive in the game and in the overtime of both games.

The Balkans have shown they know how to suffer, as well as the Argentines, and this duel could be hectic if, above all, it leads to another round of maximum penalties. That lottery that, for some, is not so much. At the moment, in World Cups, two duels with a victory for each side. No draws. And, the last one was in Russia 2018 with a clear Croatian victory.

Perhaps, by history, Argentina will arrive as a slight favourite. With the joy of having overcome the even match against the Netherlands, with the anger of the celebration after a game that was hot and had everything, including several disputes and cross statements. Also the famous 'what are you looking at, fool' by Leo Messi.

The Argentine '10', the lighthouse and benchmark of this block, wants to end his career with the World Cup. He is two games away. And he is establishing himself as a leader on and off the field, as he demonstrated in that post-match against the 'oranje'. Messi, who started crestfallen with the defeat against Saudi Arabia, is leading Argentina to be a 'phoenix' and Croatia is the new obstacle to overcome.

A beautiful duel between Argentina and Croatia, between Messi and Modric. The Croatian captain is also looking for his great international milestone. After being runners-up in Russia 2018, the Croats want to take advantage of the last bullet from Modric and other veterans to establish themselves. And, obviously, they are also two games away.

It's all or nothing for both. Since there will be no bullet in the chamber, it will be necessary to take risks. In Argentina, the coach Lionel Scaloni will be able to count on all his players, including the hits Ángel Di María and Rodrigo De Paul, except for the sanctioned Marcos Acuña and Gonzalo Montiel.

For its part, Croatia has no suspended players, but it comes from playing two extra times and it is for this reason that the coach will wait until the last moment to confirm the formation, although everything indicates that he will use the seniority of 'the usual' with Perisic, Brozovic, Lovren, Modric and the company of those key youngsters like the goalkeeper Livakovic and the center back, the wall, Josko Gvardiol.

"The game was played as it had to be played, on both sides. This is football. There are times when you have to defend and others when you have to attack. It can get difficult like the other day, with discussions. We know how to lose and we know how to win", Scaloni declared at a press conference, fed up with being said that Argentina does not know how to lose, and neither can win, after that tense fight against the Netherlands.

For his part, the Croatian coach, Zlatko Dalic, asked that the duel not be another pitched battle. "I hope it doesn't happen in this case," he said. "I did not expect the Netherlands to overcome the game. Thinking about the semifinals, we are going to be a compact team. For both teams it is crucial, but I think Argentina is under much more pressure," he argued.

ARGENTINA: E.Martinez; Molina, Otamendi, Lysandro Martinez, Rosemary, Tagliafico; De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister; Alvarez and Messi.

CROACIA: Livakovic: Juranovic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Sosa; Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic; Kramaric, Pasalic y Perisic.

-- Referee: Daniele Orsato (ITA).

--STADIUM: Lusail.

--TIME: 20.00/World Goal.