Croatia can’t afford to drag the Semi-final match to shootouts because Argentina are masters of FIFA World Cup penalties
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Lionel Messi
Argentina is on a mission in Qatar to secure the crown jewel of world football for one of its greatest players ever. The team’s journey started with the worst result possible that gave them the reality check they desperately needed. Their World Cup opener loss against Saudi Arabia ended their 36-game unbeaten run. It exposed the weaknesses Lionel Scaloni has been able to hide since he took over the managerial role.
Lionel Messi and his men have stepped up since the disappointing defeat. They dominated Mexico and Poland in the group stages to progress to the Quarterfinals. The Australians weren’t a match for the Copa America Champions in the Round of 16. They faced their biggest challenge so far in the tournament against the Netherlands. The Dutch gave everything in the heated Quarterfinals but failed to get the ball into Emiliano Martinez’s goal.
Argentina is up against Luka Modric’s Croatia in the semi-finals. The 2018 FIFA World Cup runners-up are no more the underdogs of the tournament; they are the favorites to create history. The Croats have a balanced mix of experience and youthful enthusiasm in their line-up. Like their South American counterparts, hard work and never giving up attitude are engraved in the Croat golden generation. Croatia marched to their second consecutive semi-finals, surviving two penalty shootouts against Japan in Round 16 and Brazil in the Quarters.
Dragging the match to a penalty shootout has been a prime objective of Croatia in the knockouts. The impressive performance of Dominik Lukamanovic in front of the goal has helped them to survive the 120 minutes and subsequent penalties. But they can’t rely on similar tactics against Argentina as the two times world champions are the most successful teams when it comes to penalty shootouts in the World Cup.
The 4-2 shootout win against the Netherlands was Argentina’s 5th in the World Cup. Since 1990, they have been part of 6 penalty shootouts in the chase for football’s holy grail and losing only to Germany in the 2006 World Cup Quarterfinals. Lionel Messi made his tournament debut that year for Argentina. He has won two out of three shootouts he was part of in the world cup.
Argentina should not take Croatia lightly when it comes to Penalty shootouts
Lionel Messi and co should be worried about the Croatian threat regarding shootouts. They have never lost a shootout in the World Cup since making it to the knockouts for the first time in 2018. They have won two shootouts en route to Russia’s final and two in Qatar so far. If the match goes to penalties, the winners can claim the throne of the most successful team in the shootouts.
The experience of Ivan Perisic, Kovacic, and Brozovic alongside captain Modric is an asset for the Croats over the White and Blues. The established penalty-takers of Argentina in this tournament are youngsters who could break down under pressure. The real difference-makers in the shootouts will be Emi Martinez and Dominik Lukamanovic in front of the goal.
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Justin P Joy
(4859 Articles Published)