The Qatar World Cup 2022 has entered its closing stages, as the semi-final round begins with a fiery confrontation between Argentina and Croatia, at Lusail Stadium on Tuesday.
Argentina have come a long way in the competition, overcoming the shocking defeat in the opening match against Saudi Arabia, with a series of successive victories over Poland, Mexico and Australia, then a draw with the Netherlands and a difficult victory on penalties.
The Croatian national team also stumbled in the first round, with a draw with Morocco, the most prominent surprise of the tournament, then a victory over Canada and a draw with Belgium, then two draws with Japan and Brazil in the eighth and quarter-finals, and two victories on penalties both times.
More than just a player
Some see the Argentine and Croatian national teams as relying on a single star, Lionel Messi carrying on his shoulders, as well as Luka Modric with his team.
Messi has the biggest contributions to his team's attack during the World Cup, but he enjoys the support of many distinguished players in the ranks of his team. They are not among the first-class stars in world football, but they know how to play for the team.
The Croatian national team does not depend only on its 37-year-old star Modric, and despite the increase in the average age of the team, the 2018 World Cup runner-up does not suffer from a decrease in physical fitness, after playing more than 240 minutes in the last two matches.
The Croatian team relies on its goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, who is credited with overcoming Japan and Brazil with penalty kicks, and veteran defender Diane Lovren and his partner Josko Gvardiol, who is sought after by the largest clubs in Europe, in addition to Marcel Brozovic, Mateo Kovacic, Andrei Kramaric and Ivan Perisic, who share championship roles with Modric.
The Argentine national team includes stars in the world's biggest clubs, headed by Messi, the French striker of Paris Saint-Germain, Julian Alvarez, the substitute striker in Manchester City, England, Angel Di Maria, the Italian player of Juventus, and Lautaro Martinez, the Italian striker of Inter Milan, but most of the team plays in medium clubs such as Benfica of Portugal and Seville And Atletico Madrid in Spain, Brighton and Aston Villa in England, and other clubs in the second and third ranks in Europe.
There is no player comparable to Messi's fame and influence in the Argentine national team, but there are many players who give the team "tango dancers" the required balance, such as Atletico Madrid duo Naul Molina and Rodrigo de Paul, Alexis McCallister of Brighton, and Enzo Fernandez of Benfica.
What does history say?
Argentina does not lose in the semi-finals of the World Cup, in which it participated 4 times before, in 1930, 1978, 1986 and 1990, as the team went through to the final each time.
The Croatian national team appeared only twice in the semi-finals, the first was in 1998 and lost to France, and the second in 2018, beating England in extra-time.
Parity is the title of the history of direct confrontations between the Latin and European teams, where they beat each other twice, and attended a tie once, during 5 clashes between them.
The last confrontation between the two teams was in the last edition of the 2018 World Cup, and Croatia swept Argentina 3-0.
One dream
Messi, 35, will not appear in the World Cup again, and the same applies to Modric and many of the Croatian players.
What Messi dreams of, Modric dreams of. Both of them are looking for a historical imprint and an achievement in letters of gold in the last appearance in the World Cup before bidding farewell without return.
This will make the match between the two stars a war that cannot be lost, because it means the final end of the World Cup.