Lionel Messi’s dream of winning a World Cup will be put to the test today when Argentina takes on an old foe, Croatia, in the first semifinal match of the ongoing Qatar 2022 World Cup.
After three weeks of tense action, only four teams remain in contention for the title currently held by France, which will face Morocco in the second semifinal tomorrow.
Today’s game is a sort of rematch after Croatia defeated Argentina in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. But, more importantly, it is a battle for the right to compete for the World Cup title, which is Argentina’s only missing laurel in Lionel Messi’s rich collection of gold medals.
If Argentina wins, Messi will have another chance to win the trophy for the second time in eight years, after losing his first attempt in Brazil in 2014. Germany was the victor back then.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said yesterday that the match would bring out the best in his team. Argentina’s 44-year-old coach dismissed the suggestion that his team has been fortunate thus far. “I don’t believe we don’t know how to win.” “The game was played correctly,” he said.
Croatia, with a population of only four million people, has once again defied predictions to reach this stage of the competition. They have already defeated the competition’s favorite team, Brazil, and coach Zlatko Dalic believes there is no stopping his charges.
“Being among the four best national teams in back-to-back World Cups is an extraordinary success for Croatia,” said Dalic, whose team was defeated 4-2 by France in the final four years ago. “However, we desire more. I’m upbeat and have complete faith in my team. They’ve demonstrated great character and quality, and they deserve to be in the final.”
Croatia, which defeated Japan and Brazil in penalty shootouts to reach the last four, has not won a knockout game in a major tournament since finishing third in 1998. Despite the energy-sapping games in Qatar, Dalic claims that exhaustion is not even being discussed.
“Without a doubt, we are still strong, with energy and enthusiasm,” he said. “We’ll give it our all, just like we have in previous games.” We will do the same against Argentina, giving our all. We do not have any injuries. They are not tired.”
