Date: Tuesday, Dec. 13 | Time: 2 p.m. ET
Location: Lusail Ionic Stadium — Lusail, Qatar
TV: FOX | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
Matchup to watch: Rodrigo de Paul vs. Luka Modric — De Paul has been the pressure man in the middle for Argentina with his relentless running and tracking down helping this team defensively. While Modric isn’t overly mobile, I still would expect De Paul to be the guy to mark him in the attacking third and aiming to get the ball off of his feet.
Most likely to score a goal: Lionel Messi — He’s the penalty taker, the set piece taker, and the team’s biggest threat in attack. He’s second in the tournament in goals scored with four and has been everywhere this World Cup. He’s also scored in both knockout stage games against Australia and the Netherlands.
Man of the Match pick: Emiliano Martinez — While Messi may be Argentina’s best player, “Dibu” is the heart and soul of this team. The confident, trash-talking goalkeeper is confident any time the ball comes his way, and he’s surely livid with conceding twice against the Netherlands. If Argentina get through, he’ll be a big reason why.
Match prediction: Messi gets back to the final with an inspiring performance that’s tight in the end.
Argentina (Rank 1) 2
Croatia (rank 2)1
Argentina
Matches over 2.5 Goals -71.4%
Matches under 2.5 Goals-28.6 %
Avg scored Goals -2.5%
Avg conceded Goals -.5%
Matches over 2.5 Goals -35.7%
Matches under 2.5 Goals-64.3%
Avg scored Goals -1.29%
Avg conceded Goals -.0.79%
H2H
21.6.2018 Argentina vs Croatia 0-3