Considered to be one of the favourites to win the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, Argentina defeated Netherlands in their quarter-final fixture to book a berth in the semi-finals.
In what is likely to be his final World Cup, Lionel Messi once established himself as the star player for his team by scoring and providing an assist. The captain of Argentina initially helped Nahuel Molina score Argentina’s first goal in the 35th minute, and he then added to that lead by scoring a penalty in the 73rd minute. Wout Weghorst led the Dutch comeback, making it 1-2 in the 83rd minute and then tying the score in extra time. As the game entered extra time, neither team was able to claim victory, leaving the outcome to a penalty shootout. Argentina won the shootout 4-3 on penalties thanks to some outstanding saves by Emiliano Martinez.
Last month, Messi had already stated that this would be his final World Cup. So ahead of Argentina’s semi-final fixture vs Croatia, manager Lionel Scaloni gave a massive update on Messi’s international future. We will hope he continues playing. Letu2019s see if he does. We will keep enjoying him, thatu2019s important for us and for the world of football, he said.
At the Lusail Stadium in Qatar on Wednesday, Argentina will square off against Croatia in the semifinal match. To advance to the semifinals, the European team has to win a shootout against Brazil in the quarterfinals. Additionally, this is Argentina and Croatia’s third World Cup encounter, and first in the knockout stages.
Argentina won 1-0 in 1998, before Croatia’s 3-0 victory in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Meanwhile, the CONMEBOL side will be seeking to reach the World Cup final for the sixth time, a figure bettered only by Germany . They have never been eliminated at the semi-final stage before, recently beating the Dutch in 2014.
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