In the first all-penalty night at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in
Qatar, Europe and Latin America had their equal share of agony and ecstasy as
Croatia and Argentina advanced forward leaving behind millions of Brazilian and
Dutch fans crestfallen. The two sides will face off in the semi-finals on
Tuesday.
However, the sides took very dissimilar routes before
arriving at the same spot at the end of the day. Croatia needed a
remarkable stroke of luck to recover from a 0-1 deficit against Brazil with
minutes to go to make it to the penalty and eventually win while Argentina playing the Dutch, nearly botched up what most considered a done deal before bringing back
an inspired performance to fire into the last four.
Also read: Real Madrid legends Luka Modric, Casemiro swap shirts at half-time of Brazil vs Croatia: See pic
We now take a glance at a few factors that could be
important in the semifinal clash
1. How do you stop Messi?
If there has been one constant in Argentina’s
saga in the ongoing World Cup, it has been Lionel Messi’s consistent brilliance
that has carried Argentina on its back to the last four. With four goals and
two assists, the Paris Saint -Germain superstar has been one of the best in the
cup and will be easily Argentina’s most valuable asset on Tuesday.
2. Croatia’s
iceberg
The Croat goalie Dominik Livaković is single-handedly
catapulting the side to victory when it matters the most. Facing the fiercest attacking
side of the event in Brazil, it took all of Livaković’s skill and
presence of mind to stop six shots on target and take his team into a penalty.
He starred again by saving two kicks and will be Argentina’s worst fear if a
penalty is to come alive again.
3. A battle between resourcefulness and
resilience
While Argentina have been on an attacking rage riding on Messi’s
magic and spirited performances by Julius Alvarez and Alexis Mac Allister, Croatia
has been by far the hardest team to beat at the event, just refusing to bow out
despite trailing in both the knockouts. Argentina’s skillful attack will be
matched ball to ball with Croat tenacity that is fast becoming legendary.
Also read: 5 interesting facts about Argentina’s FIFA World Cup history
4. Another ordeal by fire
Josko Gvardiol,
Croatia’s 20-year-old defender has already made a name for himself as the next
big name from the country with valuable performances. The same could be said of
Julius Alvarez of Albicelestes, who added firepower to their attack and has won
several fans already. Tuesday will be another opportunity for them to prove
their mettle.
Also read: Who is Walid Regragui, head coach of Morocco?
5. A deadly illusion
While Tuesday’s fight is
dubbed as another fire-and-ice sort of battle, it is
exactly this over-emphasis on the attack that cost Brazil a valuable ticket to the
semis. While the Croat attack looks modest in front of Argentina’s more
decorated one, seasoned campaigners Luka Modrić and Ivan Rakitić alongside Bruno Petković will
be dangerous as they can craftily convert the smallest of opportunities granted.
