Revenge is a dish best served cold. This line reverberated across Lusail Stadium today as Lionel Messi-led Argentina stopped Croatian dreams for a second successive FIFA World Cup final appearance to a screeching halt.
While a mere 1-0 drudgery could have done the deed for Argentina, Lionel Scaloni’s men chose to play their natural game- an impressive attacking football with their seven-time Ballon d’Or-winning captain as the fulcrum. The resulting 3-0 scoreline is the same defeat Croatia had handed them in their FIFA World Cup 2018 group stage match in Russia.
Modric himself was on the scoresheet in the 2018 match that was played at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, alongside Messi’s former Barcelona teammate Ivan Rakitic.
Argentina won the semi-final with only 39% ball possession, which is unlike their other wins in the tournament. This goes to show that this team can adapt to the style of play of different opponents and respond in their unique fashion.
Now the challenge ahead of them is either France or Morocco. While the African side’s qualification to the semi-final against all odds has been nothing short of miraculous, the challenge of facing the defending world champions might be too much for them. They will go into the match as the underdogs, but they have throughout this tournament, can prove their naysayers wrong by scripting a historic victory against France.
Messi and his PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe are now joint-leaders of the scoring chart, with five goals apiece. On the other hand, Julian Alvarez and Olivier Giroud are also on four goals each. If Argentina win the World Cup and Messi crosses Mbappe’s goal count, he has the chance of winning both the Golden Shoe and the Golden Ball, bringing his World Cup career to the best end possible.
