The time has come to hand out the medals. It’s just that we still have to see who will get which, and of course everyone hopes to raise the most valuable trophy, for the champion of the world, in addition to those neck-hanging awards. Argentina play for Lionel Messi and his divine status in football history. And not only for him, because there is hardly a place in the world that wants the Golden Globe so much.”Yes. We play for all our fans, for the effort and money they put in to be here. We know what they expect from us”, said coach Lionel Scaloni.The secret of life? Ask these people, they’re living it like no one else…And what does he expect from his rivals?”We expect a tough game against a very good team. And we don’t expect Croatia to change their style. They always play the same and very well. We have a team, they have great players, they have tradition”.Do they also have Luka Modrić?”He is a role model for all of us. Not because of talent but because of behavior. You should enjoy his performances. If you like football, you like to see Modric on the pitch”, praises the Argentinian coach.By the way, he claims that the Gauchos also have their trump cards, primarily Messi, although he looked very nervous after the collision with the Netherlands, so we saw him in an edition that is not usually associated with his name.”The last game was played the way it should have been played, on both sides. That’s football. Some things happen, but there is a referee to ‘delegate’ justice. I won’t even talk about it anymore. We will play the way we should play, and let the referee decide. We respect all teams and that has been our main feature since the first round. We are neither bad winners nor bad losers. And Messi? He has always been a winner, he has a great desire and he is hungry”1994: Croatia 0-0 Argentina (Friendly)1998: Argentina 1-0 Croatia (World Cup)2006: Croatia 3-2 Argentina (Friendly)2014: Argentina 2-1 Croatia (Friendly)2018: Argentina 0-3 Croatia (World Cup)They meet again ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/0O5Sb17rc3— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 12, 2022 He also adds that the semi-finals clash has no points of contact with the one in Russia 2018 when Croatia outclassed the Argentinians (3-0) while they stood and watched if Messi could do it alone against everyone. He couldn’t of course.”It makes no sense to compare those two games. Everyone is different, and I don’t have time to think about the past. The only thing that matters is this game ahead of us, everything else takes away your energy. It will be challenging, it will be difficult, the luck factor should be minimized. This is sport, sometimes even the best doesn’t win, that’s natural… Croatia have great players, we know where they can hurt us, but let’s concentrate on where we can hurt them”, said Scaloni, who – due to suspensions – will not be able to count on Marcos Acuña and Gonzalo Montiel.Nicolas Tagliafico will certainly be at left back, who will therefore have big battles with Mario Pašalić. And not only him, of course.”We analyzed them. We know they have great players, great quality in midfield. They are very good, tall, they know how to play in the middle, to cross, to reach the penalty area. Four years have passed since the last meeting. They’re in the semi-finals again, which means they’re doing great.”In 2006, Argentina faced Croatia in a friendly ⚔️🇭🇷 Luka Modrić made his debut for Croatia🇦🇷 Leo Messi scored his first goal for Argentina 1️⃣6️⃣ years later, they meet in the WC semis 😲 pic.twitter.com/Pnn8Z0gcuM— 433 (@433) December 12, 2022 “We have to pay attention to the details. We need to limit the Croats. But the focus is on us. This time we have experience from Russia and we will use it in the best way. We have to be ready for every scenario. And we must not allow the Croats to make us a mess like the Dutch made us at the end of the quarter-finals”.”The feelings ahead of the match are very positive. We are happy to have achieved one of our goals, to be in the top four. We can’t wait for the game,” said Tagliafico.In attack, as expected – Messi. Will he be nervous? Maybe. Aggressive for sure.”He was always like that. He is the captain, the leader, he motivates us. His presence brings out the best in us.”Argentinians are ready for any challenge.”We all know what awaits us. This is the semi-final. The opponent has great players, and we have to find a way to hurt them. And we have to think about ourselves, how we will look on the field”, concluded Tagliafico.QATAR 2022 WORLD CUP1/2 FINALSTuesday22.00: (2.02) Argentina (3.30) Croatia (4.50)Wednesday22.00: (1.60) France (3.80) Morocco (7.25)***odds are subject to change
