FIFA WC 2022 | SF 1 | Argentina vs Croatia Preview & prediction | H2H | lineup

A place in the FIFA World Cup 2022 final will be on line as Croatia and Argentina cross paths at the Lusail Iconic Stadium on Tuesday (December 13). 

The runners-up from the last two editions will have one more go at the title on Sunday as they try to edge one another. Boosted by some of the best players in the world like Lionel Messi and Luka Modric, the clash will serve as a mouth-watering prospect as fans from both camps could expect some high-quality entertainment.

Argentina vs Croatia Head to Head

The teams are at a stalemate in the head-to-head records and have won two matches each and drawn one. When it comes to the World Cup meetings, again the two teams are hardly separable as both have one win each. The first World Cup meeting between the sides came in the 1998 World Cup, where Croatia would go on to play in the semifinal.

The memories of the last meeting though are still fresh in the minds of Lionel Messi and Co as they were hammered by the European side as Luka Modric scored a screamer, while Willy Caballero’s error allowed Ante Rebic to add embarrassment. The encounter finished with a capitulating score line of 3-0 while Argentina made it to the last 16 just by the breadth of their hair.

Argentina vs Croatia Head to Head

FIFA World Cup 2022 so far

Argentina are on a run of four consecutive matches without a defeat having earlier lost 1-2 against Saudi Arabia in their opening World Cup match. The two-time champions then did their business with a 2-0 win against Mexico followed by another win by the same margin. Things only got better for them in the Round of 16 as they thumped Australia 2-1. The clash against the Netherlands saw them prevail on penalties after Wout Weghorst erased their 2-0 deposit in the normal time.

Croatia are one of only two teams yet to lose in the tournament and would fancy their chances against Argentina. They started the campaign with a goalless draw against Morocco while they thumped Canada 4-1. The last group game saw them take a point away from Belgium as they drew blank and ended the latter’s hopes. In the knockout stage though, they were back with their old tricks as they dismantled Japan and then the tournament favorites Brazil, with the latter win being the win of a special one in their history.

Group Standings

Knockout stage results

Argentina

R16 - Argentina 2-1 Australia

Quarterfinal - Netherlands 2-2 Argentina (Argentina won 4-3 on penalties)

Croatia

R16 -Japan 1-1 Croatia (Croatia won 3-1 on penalties)

Quarterfinal - Brazil 1-1 Croatia (Croatia won 4-2 on penalties)

Suspensions

Argentina - Gonzalo Montiel, Marcos Acuna

Croatia – None

World Cup Record

Argentina

Croatia

Argentina vs Croatia Predicted Lineup

Argentina (5-3-2): 

Martinez; Molina, Romero, Martinez, Otamendi, Tagliafico; Fernandez, De Paul, Mac Allister; Messi, Alvarez

Croatia (4-3-3):

Livakovic; Juranovic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Sosa; Kovacic, Brozovic, Modric; Kramaric, Livaja, Perisic 

Argentina vs Croatia Date, kick-off time, and venue

The FIFA World Cup 2022 Semifinal-1 encounter on Wednesday, December 14 will kick-off at 12:30 AM IST, 10:00 PM Local Time (Tuesday evening)

Venue

Lusail Stadium in Lusail

Prediction