Our prediction for this World Cup 2026 match:
Argentina
Match Time & Date:
13/12/2022
20:00
Prediction: 1-1
Croatia
A place in the 2022 World Cup final will be at stake when Argentina and Croatia face each other at Lusail Iconic Stadium on Tuesday evening. La Albiceleste survived the Netherlands thanks to Lautaro Martinez’s penalty, with the team moving one step closer to winning their first World Cup trophy since 1986. As always, a man to watch in Lionel Scaloni’s team will be Leo Messi, who has already netted four goals at the showpiece tournament in Qatar, while both Marcos Acuna and Gonzalo Montiel are banned for the match.
Both Angel Di Maria and Rodrigo De Paul have overcome their respective injuries. Meanwhile, Zlatko Dalic’s men did well to shock star-studded Brazil in the quarter-finals, and they must be high on spirits ahead of the Argentina clash. Since the Croatia boss should have a full squad to choose from, we believe that Luka Modric and Co. are capable of holding the South American giants to a draw, at least in 90 minutes. When the two teams met at the 2018 World Cup finals Croatia defeated Argentina 3-0.
Highlighted Player (Lionel Messi):
Lionel Messi is regarded as one of the best players in the history of football. He was born on 24 June, 1987 in Rosario and he began his football career at Newell’s Old Boys. At age 10 he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency, but having realized his potential at a young age, Barcelona decided to pay for his treatment.
Messi joined Barca in 2001 and he has been playing for the Camp Nou outfit ever since. The Argentine magician has won eight La Liga trophies with Barca and he helped the Catalan giants lift no less than four Champions League titles (2005/2006, 2008/2009, 2010/2011, 2014/2015).
In the 2011/2012 La Liga campaign Messi scored 50 goals for Barca, while netting 14 goals in the 2011/2012 Champions League campaign. The five-time Golden Ball award winner has established himself as Barcelona’s all-time top scorer, but he has yet to win a trophy with Argentina national team at major tournaments. Leo Messi, though, has won Olympic Gold Medal (2008) and FIFA World Youth Championship (2005), with la Albiceleste.
Highlighted Team (Croatia):
While the national football team of Croatia also played international matches between 1940 and 1944, they only resumed their duties in 1990 after the country gained independence from Yugoslavia. Vatreni enjoyed a remarkable start on the international stage, winning the third place on their first ever World Cup appearance in France in 1998, while crashing out in the group stage at the 2002, 2006 and 2014 tournaments.
Croatia also reached the quarter-finals at the 1996 and 2008 European Championships, proving they are rightly considered one of Europe’s top sides at the start of the 21st century. Long-serving captain Darijo Srna is their most capped player with over 130 appearances for the national team, whereas former Real Madrid striker Davor Suker is one of their most famous players and top scorer with 45 goals.
Other notable footballers to have played for Croatia include Luka Modric, Zvonimir Boban, Robert Prosinecki, Ivan Rakitic and Mario Mandzukic. Miroslav Blazevic and Slaven Bilic are the coaches that have been behind team’s biggest success stories up to date.
Fiorentina 
Udinese
Inter 
Como
Man City 
Everton
Bournemouth
Crystal Palace 
Chelsea 
Fulham
Newcastle 
Aston Villa 
