The first semi-final of the Qatar World Cup is underway. Croatia will face Argentina, with both teams having progressed through their quarter-finals via penalty shoot-out. It’s a match that will surely be billed as Luca Modric vs Lionel Messi, and judging by their respective performances in the knockout rounds so far, that wouldn’t be unfair.
When is Argentina vs Croatia
This is the first of the semi-finals. It’s Tuesday, December 13, at Lusail Stadium. The other semi-final is the following day at Al Bayt Stadium.
What time is kick-off?
Perfectly timed for the UK audience, the match kicks off at
What TV channel is it on?
This is yet to be settled between ITV and the BBC, but regardless, the competition will be on free-to-air television in the UK.
How has Argentina fared so far?
Emiliano Martinez produced a penalty-saving masterclass as Argentina beat the Netherlands on penalties to decide a thrilling World Cup quarter-final.
After Lionel Messi lit up the Lusail Stadium to score and assist, Argentina looked set to sail into a semi-final clash with Croatia, only for Wout Weghorst to hit a brace to seal a remarkable 2-2 draw.
Aston Villa stopper Martinez then took center stage to save from Virgil van Dijk and Teun Koopmeiner as the Dutch fell on penalties to Argentina in a repeat of the 2014 semi-final.
Earlier in the tournament, Argentina beat Australia 2-1 in the quarter-finals. That match marked a return to form after a relatively scrappy group stage that started with a shock defeat to Saudi Arabia, followed by 2-0 wins over Mexico and Poland.
What does Argentina say?
Messi celebrated the quarter-final victory with his arms in the air in front of the packed ranks of Argentina fans, his hopes of securing football’s biggest prize at the fifth attempt intact for a few more days.
“Argentina is among the four best teams in the world because we show that we know how to play every game with the same desire and the same intensity,” said the seven-time Ballon D’or winner. “A lot of joy, a lot of luck. We didn’t have to go to extra time or penalties we had to suffer. But we came through and that’s impressive.”
How has Croatia fared so far?
Luka Modric’s quest for a World Cup title continues unabated. Modric converted one of the penalties as Croatia knocked Brazil out of the World Cup, beating the five-time champions 4-2 in a shootout to reach the semi-finals for the second straight time.
Neymar equaled Pele’s record for most goals for the national team, giving Brazil the lead in extra time. But he was not among the four Brazilian players awarded a penalty in the shootout, instead being reduced to tears on the pitch at the Education City Stadium as the red-and-white-clad Croatians celebrated.
Croatia have won just one of their five games so far in regular time. They drew their opening game against Morocco 0-0 and then beat Canada 4-1. The last game in their group was another 0-0 stalemate against Belgium. In the round of 16, Croatia needed penalties to overcome Japan and repeated the trick against Brazil.
What is the performance history of Argentina and Croatia?
These teams have only met five times before, all in the last 30 years. In friendlies they drew 0-0 in 1994, Croatia won 3-2 in 2006 and Argentina won 2-1 in 2014.
At the World Cup, Croatia lost 1-0 to Argentina in the group stage in 1998. The two teams met again in Russia in 2018, when Croatia beat them 3-0 in the group stage.
What is Argentina’s World Cup record?
Argentina has been World Championship winners on two occasions: 1978 and 1986. The latter, won in Mexico is one of the most iconic triumphs in the history of the tournament with La Albiceleste captained by Diego Maradona, who was at the height of his powers.
Amid his successful seven-year spell with Napoli, he created five and scored five, including the infamous one God’s hand measure and that maverick 60-yarder was later named ‘Goal of the Century’ in a 2-1 quarter-final win over England.
They also finished runners-up in both 1990 and 2014, losing to Germany, in one form or another, in the final on both occasions.
What is Croatia’s World Cup record?
Croatia have qualified for all but one of the World Cup tournaments held since their independence – South Africa 2010 – and their appearances are tied to their outstanding placings: third in France 1998, making them the highest finishing debutants since Eusebio’s Portugal in 1966, and second place at Russia 2018.
Modric was awarded the Golden Ball for the tournament’s best overall player, with his performance in Russia contributing to his Ballon d’Or win later that year.
Latest odds
Argentina wins 5/6
Croatia wins 9/2
Draw 5/2
