Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi and his Argentine protege continued their quest for a third World Cup title – Argentina won the tournament in 1978 and 1986 – in Tuesday’s semi-final against Croatia.
The teams meet at the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on Tuesday. You can follow all the action on FOX and the FOX Sports App.
Croatia are back in their familiar place after finishing second behind France at the 2018 World Cup. Croatia also finished third in 1998.
Argentina, champions of Group C, are in the semi-finals for the fifth time.
Messi scored in a quarter-final win over the Netherlands to join Gabriel Batistuta for the most World Cup goals by a player from Argentina (10).
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Messi, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain, has scored four goals in Qatar to be tied for runners-up in the tournament. He also has two assists. Manchester City forward Julián Álvarez has scored two goals for Argentina.
Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has kept two clean sheets and conceded eight shots on target.
Croatia specialize in being successful when the game ends in a penalty shootout. It advanced to the semifinals by defeating Brazil in the quarterfinals and Belgium in the round of 16, both via PKs.
Additionally, Croatia is 4-0 all-time in World Cup games decided by penalty shoot-outs, level on points with Germany for their best non-defeat mark in the ultimate football tournament.
Croatia are led by captain Luka Modrić, a Real Madrid midfielder who leads all players in pass interceptions (nine). Modrić won Ballon d’Or, World Cup Golden Ball (Best Player) and Best FIFA Men’s Player in 2018.
Bundesliga forward 1899 Hoffenheim Andrej Kramaric has scored two goals and Tottenham Hotspur forward Ivan Perisic has one goal and two assists for the cocasti (“Checkered”).
Goalkeeper Dominik Livaković has kept three clean sheets and allowed three goals in five games, making 19 saves.
How to bet on the Argentina-Croatia game, from the money line, over the draw, over/under total odds and expert tips (all odds via FOX Bet).
Highlights Netherlands vs. Argentina
The Netherlands and Argentina faced each other in the quarter-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Argentina vs. Croatia (2 p.m. ET Tuesday, FOX and FOX Sports App)
Argentina: -120 (bet $10 to win $18.33 total)
Croatia: +360 (bet $10 to win $46 total)
To draw: +210 (bet $10 to win a total of $31
Over/Under Total Odds – 2.5
Above: +140 (bet $10 to win $24 total)
Under: -200 (bet $10 to win $15 total)
Highlights Croatia vs. Brazil
Croatia and Brazil faced each other in the quarter-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Selection via FOX Sports Betting Analyst Jason McIntyre:
Before the World Cup, I put Argentina futures as my best bet and I felt good about everything except that I had to face Brazil in the semifinals. And then Croatia stunned Brazil with PKs and Argentina are now favorites to reach the final. But Croatia are extremely dangerous here and they beat Argentina in the 2018 group stage, a game that saw tempers flare (seven yellow cards) and Croatia scored three goals in the second half to win 3-0. Argentina are without midfielder Marcos Acuna and defender Gonzalo Montiel in this game as both are suspended on yellow card suspension.
How good is Croatia? They only led the entire tournament for 46 minutes – basically the entire second half against Canada and that’s it – and not at all in the K. Croatia supports the idea of playing for PKs – they won eight out of nine on penalties – and didn’t score on goal in the first 115 minutes against Brazil.
But it’s difficult to face Argentina here. This team evokes the Argentine run of 1986, led by Diego Maradona, the greatest player in Argentine soccer history until the emergence of Lionel Messi. The Argentine team had an impressive defense led by Oscar Ruggeri and a phenomenal No. 10 attacking midfielder in Maradona.
This feels like a 1-0 game and my bets will focus on this final.
PICK: Draw in the first half (-105 on FOX Bet, bet $10 to win $19.52 in total)
PICK: Halftime/Fulltime Draw/Draw (+333 on FOX Bet, bet $10 to win $43.30 total)
PICK: First goal: Lionel Messi (+320 on FOX Bet, wager $10 to win $42 in total)
PICK: Argentina win on penalties (+550 at FOX Bet, wager $10 to win $65 total)
PICK: Total Bookings: Over 4.5 (-110 on FOX Bet, bet $10 to win $19.09 in total)
PICK: Argentina Moneyline (-120 on FOX Bet, bet $10 to win $18.33 in total)
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