Argentina’s Run of Form
Argentina came into the World Cup after finishing second in the CONMEBOL, and though the team had a few setbacks in their qualifying campaign, they were one of the top teams going into the World Cup. Argentina was drawn into group C, where they had to play against Poland, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico. In their first game against the lowest ranking team in the group, Argentina was upset by Saudi Arabia, who beat the team 2-1. With all critics turning on Argentina, they had to play against Mexico in their next game. Argentina silenced the critics, finishing the game 2-0. In their final game against Poland, Argentina won 2-0 again, going to the top of the group.
In the round of 16, Argentina had to play against Australia. The team had no difficulty in knocking Australia out of the World Cup, as the match ended 2-1. In their next game, Argentina played against the Netherlands. It was a tough fixture, which proved to be far more bad-tempered than either team could have predicted. Argentina had a 2-0 lead, but the Netherlands scored in the final 10 minutes to give themselves a small chance. In the 101st minute of the game, the Netherlands equalised, so the game had to go into extra time. Neither team could take the lead, and as the score remained 2-2, the game had to be decided in a penalty shootout. The Dutch missed their first two penalties, and though Argentina missed its third penalty, the team managed to win the shootout.
Croatia’s Run of Form
Croatia was drawn into Group F, with Morocco, Canada, and the former top ranking team in the world, Belgium. In their first game, Croatia played against Morocco. It was not a memorable match for either team, as the game ended 0-0, but they both secured important group points. In its next game, Croatia had to play against Canada. The Canadian team took an early lead against the Croats, but Croatia kept its patience and scored 4 goals. The game ended 4-1, and Croatia went to the top of the table. In their final group game, the Croatian team had to play against their toughest group opponents, Belgium. Belgium had played very poorly up until that point, and though they put up a fight against the Croatian team, the game ended 0-0.
Croatia finished second in the group, which meant that they had to play against the winners of Group E, Japan. Up until that point, Japan had beaten both Spain and Germany, and the Asian team was something of a dark horse. Both teams scored during the game, but at the end of the match, neither team had the lead. The match went into extra time, where neither team scored, and then the winner had to be decided by a penalty shootout. Croatia kept its composure, scoring 4 out of their 3 penalties. Japan had a terrible penalty shootout, scoring only 1 goal in 4 attempts, and Croatia won the game. In the quarterfinals, Croatia was drawn against Brazil. Many predicted that this would be the end of the Croatian team's campaign in the World Cup, but they diffused all of the Brazilian chances. The game ended 0-0, and in extra time, Brazil finally opened the scoring with a 106th minute goal from Neymar. Croatia pressed the Brazilians back, and in the 117th minute, they equalised. With momentum on their side, Croatia went on to win the penalty shootout.
Players to Look Out For
Argentina
Lionel Messi has impressed in this World Cup, and as it may be his last chance to win the glorious trophy for Argentina, all eyes will be on him. He scored 4 goals in the competition so far, only 1 behind the top goal scorer, Kylian Mbappe. The young Julian Alvarez has also been fun to watch, as the Manchester City youngster has added freshness to the attack. Angel Di Maria, Rodrigo de Paul, Enzo Fernandes, and Leandro Paredes have also played regularly in this World Cup, and they are great additions to the team.
Croatia
Luka Modric has led the Croatian team to the semi-finals in consecutive World Cups. Aged 37, he has shown the world that he still has what it takes to lead his country, and will be vital in their semi-finals fixture against Argentina. Andrej Kramaric has scored 2 goals for his country and has kept the Croatian attack alive, with teammates Ivan Perisic, Lovro Majer, Mario Pasalic, Marko Livaja, and Mateo Kovacic. The Croatian defence is also impressive, with the likes of Josko Gvardiol, Dejan Lovren, and Josip Juranovic, all frustrating any opposition’s attack. In goals, Dominik Livakovic has been one of the most important players for the Croatians, and he may even win the golden glove award for his performances so far.
Argentina vs Croatia Betting Opportunities
There is no shortage of betting opportunities for this match. You will find the odds for Argentina to win the game and Croatia to win, though going on their previous two results, it may also be worth considering a draw. In that case, you may wish to bet on one of the teams to qualify, or use a double chance bet where you can also potentially win with a draw.
There will be plenty of standard bets such as handicaps, total goals, total corners, total yellow cards, and so on. You can also find intriguing bets such as which team will score the first goal, will a team reverse the result, will a team win to nil, and other types of specific match bets.
In addition to all these fantastic selections, there will also be a player betting market, where you can find the odds on Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez, Angel Di Maria, Mario Pasalic, Andrej Kramaric, Marko Livaja, and others, to score during the match.