In the first leg of the quarterfinals, Argentina will face Croesus in a head-to-head match between two legends of the game, 37-year-old Modric and 35-year-old Messi, both of whom are playing in the World Cup for the last time and have the last chance to help their countries to win the World Cup?
The focus of this match is on the two stars of the World Cup, Modric will be playing his 161st game for Croecia, and for the second time in his career he will take Croecia to the quarter-finals of the World Cup, last time he was runner-up, this time he needs to get past Argentina first.
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
then
the national team
With his 171st appearance, the World Cup is now 24 appearances, sure to overtake German legend Lothar Matthäus's 25, 26 to become the solo first; the current World Cup total of 10 goals to tie his predecessor Gabriel Batistuta, and 7 assists is only second to the king of the ball Diego Maradona's 8, and is now
Lionel Messi (1987-), Argentine footballer
s outings, goals, and assists are writing the record books.
Croesia's ability to reach the quarterfinals was based on their strong defense, which was the same pattern four years ago when they finished second, and this year the defense has been upgraded even more. Gvardiol, the center back, has been playing very well this year, and with the veteran Lovren, he has been a great addition to the defense of Croatia. So far, only 2 goals were scored by the opponents, second only to Morocco, the dark horse of this year.
The most important thing for a stable defense is to have a good goalkeeper, and Livakovic is a perfect example of this. In addition to conceding only one goal in the group stage, Livakovic made key saves in the knockout stage in both 12-yard PK battles, which can be regarded as a one-man rescue for the country.
The biggest strength of Croesusia is their midfield, which consists of Modric, Brozovic and Kovacic, is firmly in control of the game, and when they are disappointed, they immediately get the ball back, which was especially obvious against Brazil, and it has always been Croesusia's specialty.
The only weakness of Croatsia is probably the lack of strikers. After the retirement of Mandzukic, the striker who could harass them in front of the field in the last WC, Croatsia's offense has been much weaker. This year, they are still scoring goals with their striker-less formation and breakthroughs from the sides, but compared to Argentina's offense, they are really poor, and they will have to rely on their stable defense to win the game.
