Argentina and Croatia seek the final on the backs of their captains: While Messi has revealed a more passionate profile in Qatar, Modric is holding his break
Resistance. Suddenly the word begins to sound like a speech in Qatar. It is used with equal dedication by Croatian and Argentinian journalists as a hallmark of their respective teams, the added value that has brought them to where they are today. So the first World Cup runner-up will be resilient, there is no doubt about that. Either Argentina, able to overcome a very painful defeat against Saudi Arabia in their first game of the tournament and some penalties against the Netherlands, or Croatia, who always go one step further, with two consecutive wins against Japan and Brazil , the last after drawing in another historic 116 minutes. This Tuesday (8pm) the unknown will be dispelled at the colossal Lusail Stadium, the golden jewel of Doha, also the scene of the final next Sunday.
It will be a duel with no clear favourite, even if history places the South Americans one level higher. Lionel Scaloni’s team has grown since that first catastrophe, but his game doesn’t fall in love. And Zlatko Dalic’s Croatia has reached the penultimate round after winning a single match against Canada. The rest, draw and penalty kicks. Perhaps the differential key is marked by the performance of their corresponding stars. Above all, the semi-final is the confrontation between Leo Messi and Luka Modric, both looking for a World Cup they have touched before and with which they would crown their careers. In his boots is the final.
Messi (35 years old) arrived in Qatar quite convinced that he was living his last World Cup experience. Until the victory in the last edition of the Copa América, his career with the national team has always been discussed, under the magnifying glass. And more than ever after the lost final in 2014, where the star burst into tears. Today, freed from that pressure, another Messi can be seen. With the initial defeat, he took a step forward and was essential to avoid group stage collapse. Now he already has four goals and two assists and his desire to lift the cup is even noticeable in his defiant gestures against the Netherlands.
“Messi is the best player in the world in the last decade,” Dalic praised him on Monday. “He has great quality and we have to prepare well to meet him. You don’t have to give him many places because he is very motivated. This will probably be their last chance to win a World Cup. Personal branding works not, we didn’t do it last time and we’re not going to do it now. He doesn’t run much, not even backwards. Wait and receive with all our strength and energy. We have to be very attentive to that,” added the Croatian coach .
The attitude of Modric (37 years old) is apparently calmer. Croatia is not understood without its presence on the pitch. Dalic gives him freedom of movement because he knows he can be trusted. Despite his age, the blonde midfielder works tirelessly throughout the match, sporting an inappropriate physical representation for what his ID markings are. The same goes up to become the first line of pressure that goes to the defense to be the one to initiate the attack.
In Russia, where he was the best, he also cried angrily after losing in the final. He didn’t think he’d see himself in such a different one, but four years later, the opportunity is once again within his grasp. “It is a pleasure to watch him play. It is an example to many for his quality and behavior. We will try to enjoy it,” Scaloni said of him, returning the praise that the technicians gave to the rival figures.
Two earlier crosses between the two teams float in the air. The first, which they played in the group stage of the World Cup in Russia in which Croatia won 0-3. It’s the one the fans remember the most and the one the selectors were asked about yesterday with no one jumping to conclusions. But the stars of both teams remember another duel that is more distant and less transcendental, but much more emotional.
It was a friendly game played at St. Jakob Park in Basel in 2006, won by Croatia (3-2). There Modric made his debut with the checkered, and there too Messi scored his first goal with the Albiceleste. They are still taking their first steps in elite football. The Croat, just over twenty; the Argentinian, with only 18 years. None of them wore the ’10’ on their back anymore, although it was already clear that they would be essential for the future of these two teams. And what if they have become.
Aside from the performance of Messi and Modric, the two teams are concerned about similar aspects. Scaloni has casualties in defence, Acuña’s on the left is more worrying than Montiel’s on the right. And he also knows that neither Rodrigo de Paul nor Ángel Di María have to endure colossal efforts. The mental wear after a too intense championship, which reached its peak in the stressful final against the Netherlands, is cause for concern. “We play important games since we lost to Saudi Arabia. Mentally we deal with it in the same way. We take it naturally,” Albiceleste’s coach reassured.
Fatigue is also the biggest danger for Croatia, although Dalic sees his men full of energy. “Everyone is fit and healthy and I didn’t even ask which of them is tired. We know how much effort we will have to put in and we are prepared for it.”
The presence of Argentines in Doha was already huge, but in recent hours planes have continued to arrive from Buenos Aires and other parts of the planet full of fans dressed in the albiceleste shirt. Some 30,000 of them are expected in Lusail, where a beating in the stands is guaranteed. Nothing to worry the Croats, for whom the small size of their country makes their achievements greater.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
