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Argentina will square off against 2018 runners-up Croatia at the Lusail Stadium in the first semi-final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday.
Argentina have qualified for the semi-finals for the first time since 2014 when they finished as runners-up to Germany. Croatia are in the semi-finals for the second time in a row and will be looking to produce a repeat of their performance from 2018 by reaching the final again.
Both Argentina and Croatia booked their places in the semi-finals thanks to their superior performances in penalty shootouts against the Netherlands and Brazil respectively.
The Albiceleste played out a dramatic 2-2 draw against the Netherlands last time around as they gave up a two-goal lead with substitute Wout Weghorst scoring the equalizing goal right at the death. As the two teams could not be separated after 30 minutes of extra time, the game went to penalties. Emiliano Martinez saved two penalties as Argentina recorded a 4-3 win.
Croatia played out an intriguing 1-1 draw against Brazil, with Neymar and Bruno Petkovic both scoring in extra time. Dominik Livaković was impressive throughout the game and even made a save during the penalty shootout as Croatia secured a 4-2 win.
Argentina vs Croatia Head-to-Head Stats
The two teams have crossed paths five times thus far, with three games being friendlies and two meetings coming in the group stages of the World Cup.
The head-to-head record is perfectly even at the moment, with two wins for each side and one game ending in a draw. They last met in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup in Russia when goals from Ante Rebic, Luka Modric, and Ivan Perisic helped them to a 3-0 win.
Argentina form guide: W-W-W-W-L
Croatia form guide: W-W-D-W-D
Argentina vs Croatia: Numbers you need to know before their FIFA World Cup 2022 encounter
Argentina have won their last four games in the competition after suffering a 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia in their campaign opener, scoring two goals in each of these four wins. Lionel Messi has scored in four of their five games thus far and will be the player to watch out for in this game.
Argentina have won four of their five games in the World Cup thus far while Croatia have played draws in regular time in four of their five games. Argentina have scored at least two goals in six of their last seven matches in the World Cup.
Interestingly, Argentina have never been eliminated from the semi-finals at the World Cup, making it to the finals in their previous five appearances at this stage of the competition.
Argentina have picked up just one win against European opponents in their last seven attempts in the World Cup. Croatia's 3-0 win over Argentina was their first win over a South American team in the World Cup in five attempts and they extended that unbeaten run with a win over Brazil last week.
The two teams have adopted different approaches in their World Cup campaigns, so it will be interesting to see how the game pans out.
