Argentina will meet Croatia in the semifinals of the World Cup in Qatar on Tuesday, a chance for Lionel Messi to take a step closer to his dream of lifting the trophy.
But they come up against a Croatia side that reached the final in Russia four years ago and have a formidable record in knockout matches at the global finals.
HERE ARE 10 FACTS AHEAD OF THE GAME.
Argentina have never lost a World Cup semifinal. They have been victorious in all four previous visits to this stage of the competition, advancing past USA in 1930 (6-1), Belgium in 1986 (2-0), Italy in 1990 (1-1, 4-3 on penalties) and the Netherlands in 2014 (0-0, 4-2 on penalties).
Croatia have a 50 per cent record at this stage. They lost to eventual winners France (1-2) in 1998, but beat England (2-1) four years ago in Russia.
Croatia have never lost a penalty shootout at the World Cup, winning all four of their previous ties that went to spot-kicks. They have seen off Denmark (2018), Russia (2018), Japan (2022) and Brazil (2022). In fact, they have won all five of their matches that have gone to extra-time, with that semifinal 2-1 win over England there as well.
Argentina have a near perfect record in penalty shootouts too. They have won five of their six matches that went to spot-kicks, the only blemish a quarterfinal loss to hosts Germany in 2006. They have beaten Yugoslavia (1990), Italy (1990), England (1998) and Netherlands (2014 & 2022).
The two sides have met five times before in all competitions with two wins each and a draw. It is also an even record in the World Cup, with Argentina winning 1-0 in the group stages in 1998 and Croatia claiming a 3-0 success in their pool in 2018. Luka Modric was on target in that game.
Argentina have lost only one of their last 41 internationals (W28 D12), which was their shock defeat to Saudi Arabia in their opening game of the World Cup in Qatar. They have clearly improved as the competition has gone on.
Lionel Messi will join Germany great Lothar Matthaus on 25 World Cup appearances if he plays against Croatia, the all-time record for any player. Assuming Messi features in either the final or the third-place play-off, he will then hold the record outright.
We could well be in for an extra 30 minutes. Eight of Argentina’s last 14 World Cup knockout-stage matches against European nations have required extra time, while five of Croatia’s last six knockout-stage games have also gone into extra time.
Croatia have lost only one of their last 12 World Cup matches (W5 D6), while they have been successful in eight of their 10 World Cup knockout-stage ties.
The referee for the game will be Italian Daniele Orsato. He took charge of the opening game of the tournament as Ecuador beat Qatar 2-0 and Argentina’s 2-0 group stage win over Mexico.
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