Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni confirmed that Croatia is a very difficult opponent, as he expects a difficult match against the Croatian counterpart when they face up on Tuesday at Lusail stadium in the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Argentina and Croatia booked their places in the semi-finals thanks to their superior penalty shoot-out performances against the Netherlands and Brazil respectively after drawing 2-2 and 1-1. Scaloni said during the press conference presentation prior to the game: "We expect a difficult match against a team that plays as a group. Things will be difficult for us. The comparison with the previous World Cup is not logical. Everything is different."
He added, "We know how to lose and we know how to win. We lost against Saudi Arabia and left quietly. We beat Brazil in the final and we saw images of Paredes, Messi, and Neymar together. What happened against the Netherlands can happen to any team."
He went on to say: "In football, sometimes the best team does not win. We hope to give our best as we always do. We have analyzed Croatia a lot. It is a great team and has great players. It will be a difficult match."
On Messi, he commented: "I am not surprised by Messi's character. He is our leader and has a winning personality. We hope he continues to play fantastic."
Argentina qualified for the semi-finals for the first time since 2014, when they finished second to Germany, while Croatia reached the semi-finals for the second time in a row and will be looking to repeat their performance in 2018 by reaching the final again.
France is set to face an 'away game' in the World Cup semi-final against Morocco, while the loser will play with the loser of the other match for third place.