Argentina vs Croatia!

“The previous game was played the way we had to play - for both teams. The Netherlands and Argentina. That's football. In some games things can happen like this ...

It is a great thing to be among the four best teams at two World Cups in a row. They are very good, they are also tall and they can play in the midfield, make crosses, get to the area. Safe to say he's the ideal teammate for the most important matches, both in the league and with his country. The official match ball for the semi-finals and final at the World Cup 2022. Let’s take a moment to think at just how amazing the achievements of this Croatia side are. A ball over the top saw Julián Álvarez beat Lovren for pace and patch onto it; Livakovic had no choice but to try and stop him but took out the attacker in the process and Messi duly converted the penalty. He won the penalty and scored one of the 2022 World Cup's best goals - what a player! Argentina counter but that guy, Luka Modric, does amazingly well to win a foul and take the danger out of the attack. Croatia are having a lot of the ball but look like they don't want to play forward, like there's a forcefield that's stopping them from moving towards goal. Now we have to try our best to achieve the objective. [live build-up to the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France](https://en.as.com/soccer/argentina-vs-france-in-world-cup-final-live-online-latest-news-and-updates-today-n-3/), before live-text commentary of the game at Lusail Stadium. We are going to try acheive the dream.

Argentina and Croatia face off for a place in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final as both Lionel Messi and Luka Modric chase their first career trophy in what ...

3 hrs 20 mins from kickoff: Argentina were taken to the limit by the Netherlands last time out and games against European nations have been a problem for them of late. In the former shoot-out he became the third goalkeeper in history to save three penalties in a World Cup decider. Argentina friendly back in 2006 that Luka Modric made his first of 160 appearances for Croatia, and Lionel Messi scored his first of 95 goals for Argentina. 2 hrs 40 mins from kickoff: Croatia’s Ivan Perisic has had over twice as many touches in the opposition box (30) than any of his teammates. From the set-piece, Alexis Mac Allister gets a near-post flick on and Dominik Livakovic has to produce a brilliant save. That means a switch to a back four and Paris Saint-Germain's Paredes adding an extra body to the midfield to duke it out with Croatia's three maestros. Messi and his merry men are on their way to the final. Nicolas Otamendi takes a shot in the face from Luka Modric because of course he does! Rolling out the latter at this point feels like a bit of a flex from Lionel Scaloni. 80th minute: Of the two all-time greats on the field tonight, Luka Modric is going to be the loser. One of the great World Cup midfielders and finest players of the 21st Century leaves the stage. [transfer speculation putting a £100million ($123m) price tag on his head](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/soccer/news/top-10-world-cup-transfer-targets-bellingham-gvardiol/hx37lmlofzksx8nfv4qeex67).

Can Messi magic lead Argentina to the last step of the perennial dream? or will Modric's stubborn Croatia make it into back-to-back World Cup final?

Victories for Croatia and France in this round will set up a repeat of the 2018 Russia World Cup final. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top in this tasty battle. Argentina made a faltering start to their latest quest for a first World Cup trophy since the days of Diego Maradona, as they became the subject of a historic scalp at the hands of tournament minnows Saudi Arabia in their 2022 World Cup opener.

Follow live scores and updates, as Argentina faces Croatia for a chance to play in the World Cup championship game. ... We're counting down the minutes until ...