Lionel Messi and Luka Modric are set to engage in an enthralling FIFA World Cup clash as Argentina take on Croatia in the semi-finals of the tournament later tonight.
La Albiceleste defeated the Netherlands via penalties in the quarter-finals to seal their last-four berth. Vatreni, meanwhile, bettered Brazil via penalties to claim their semi-final spot.
This is the second consecutive time that Croatia have sealed a spot in the FIFA World Cup semi-final. Zlatko Dalic’s team were the finalists in 2018, only to be defeated by France.
Argentina’s talisman, Lionel Messi, has been in fine form during the tournament in Qatar. Messi has scored four goals and bagged two assists. His performances are one of the key reasons behind the success of Lionel Scaloni’s team.
As for Croatia, Luka Modric is their main superstar. While the likes of Ivan Perisic and others have performed well, Modric is the player who makes the team tick.
Former Barcelona superstar Messi and Real Madrid’s Modric will be two crucial factors during the last-four game. The outcome of the match will have great consequences on the legacy of either player. Pundit Danny Murphy believes it’s more important for Messi to win as it would help him claim to be the greatest player of all time.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Murphy said (via PSGTalk):
“For Messi, I think he needs it to put him up there as possibly the greatest of all time and compare himself to the likes of Maradona and Pele and people like that and he’s a genius.
“Modric equally is good in different ways. The way that he goes about his business is a little bit quieter. There’s not quite as much pizzazz around what he does. Sometimes you have to be at the game to watch Modric to really see how good he is.”
Lionel Messi and Luka Modric met in the 2018 FIFA World Cup as well
Lionel Messi’s Argentina and Luka Modric’s Croatia met in the group stages of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Croatia were the better team on that occasion by a mile.
They won the game by a scoreline of 3-0. Ante Rebic opened the scoring after a howler from Willy Caballero. Luka Modric scored a spectacular goal from outside the box.
Lionel Messi’s former Barcelona teammate Ivan Rakitic further added to Argentina’s misery, scoring in injury time.