Argentina and Croatia seek the final on the backs of their captains: while Messi has revealed a more passionate profile in Qatar, Modric maintains his pause
Resilience. Suddenly, the word begins to sound like a harangue in Qatar. It is used with equal devotion by Croatian and Argentine journalists as a hallmark of their respective teams, the added value that has brought them to where they are today. So the first runner-up in the World Cup will be resilient, there is no doubt. Either Argentina, capable of overcoming a very painful defeat against Saudi Arabia in their first game of the tournament and some penalties against the Netherlands, or Croatia, which always goes one step further in this, with two consecutive wins against Japan and Brazil, the latter after drawing in another historic 116 minute. This Tuesday (8:00 p.m.) the unknown will be dispelled in the colossal Lusail Stadium, the golden jewel of Doha, also the scene of the final next Sunday.
It will be a duel without a clear favourite, even though history places the South Americans one level above. Lionel Scaloni’s team has grown since that initial catastrophe, but he doesn’t fall in love with his game. And Zlatko Dalic’s Croatia has reached the penultimate round having won a single match against Canada. The rest, draws and penalties. Perhaps the differential key is marked by the performance of their corresponding stars. Above all, the semifinal is the face to face between Leo Messi and Luka Modric, both in search of a world trophy that they have touched before and with which they would crown their careers. In his boots is the final.
Messi (35 years old) arrived in Qatar quite convinced that he was living his last World Cup experience. Until the victory in the last edition of the Copa América, his career with the national team has always been in question, under the magnifying glass. And more than ever after the final lost in 2014, where the star ended up in tears. Today, freed from that pressure, a different Messi can be seen. With the initial defeat, he took a step forward and was instrumental in avoiding collapse in the group stage. Now he already has four goals and two assists and his desire to lift the cup is even noticeable in his defiant gestures against the Netherlands.
“Messi is the best player in the world of the last decade,” Dalic praised him on Monday. “He has tremendous quality and we have to prepare very well to face him. You don’t have to give him a lot of space because he is very motivated. This will probably be his last chance to win a World Cup. Personal branding doesn’t work, we didn’t do it last time and we won’t do it now either. He doesn’t run much, nor backwards. He waits and receives with all the strength and energy. We need to be very attentive to that,” added the Croatian coach.
Modric’s attitude (37 years old) is, apparently, more serene. Croatia is not understood without his presence on the field. Dalic gives him freedom of movement because he knows he can be trusted. Despite his age, the blond midfielder works tirelessly throughout the game, with an inappropriate physical display for what his ID marks. The same goes up to become the first line of pressure that goes down to the defense to be the one who initiates the attack.
In Russia, where he was the best, he also cried angrily after losing in the final. He did not think that he could see himself in another like it, but four years later he once again has the possibility within reach. “It’s a pleasure to watch him play. It is an example for many for its quality and behavior. We will try to enjoy it, ”Scaloni said about him, returning the praise that the technicians gave to the rival figures.
A revealing duel
Two previous crosses between the two teams float in the air. The first, the one they played in the group stage of the World Cup in Russia in which Croatia thrashed 0-3. It is the one that the fans remember the most and the one that the selectors were asked about yesterday without anyone drawing conclusions. But the stars of both teams keep in their memory another duel that is more distant and less transcendental, but much more emotional.
It was a friendly that was played at St. Jakob Park in Basel in 2006, won by Croatia (3-2). There Modric debuted with the checkered, and also there Messi scored his first goal with the Albiceleste. They were still taking their first steps in elite football. The Croatian, just over twenty; the Argentine, with just 18 years. None still wore the ’10’ on their back, although it was already clear that they would be essential for the future of these two teams. And what if they have ended up being.
Beyond the performance of Messi and Modric, the two teams are concerned about similar aspects. Scaloni has casualties in defense, Acuña’s on the left side is more worrying than Montiel’s on the right. And he also knows that neither Rodrigo de Paul nor Ángel Di María are up for colossal efforts. He worries about the mental exhaustion after a championship that was too intense, which reached its climax in the stressful final against the Netherlands. “We have been playing important games since we lost to Saudi Arabia. Mentally we are managing it the same. We handle it naturally, “the Albiceleste coach reassured.
Fatigue is also the biggest danger for Croatia, although Dalic sees his men full of energy. “Everyone is fit and healthy and I haven’t even asked which of them is tired. We know the effort we are going to have to make and we are prepared for it.”
The presence of Argentines in Doha was already enormous, but in the last few hours planes have continued to arrive from Buenos Aires and other parts of the planet full of fans dressed in the albiceleste shirt. Some 30,000 of them are expected in Lusail, where a thrashing in the stands is guaranteed. Nothing that worries the Croats, for whom the small size of their country makes their feats bigger.
