Argentina and Croatia will face each other at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium in the second Group D match of the 2018 World Cup, Friday (22/6). For the captain of La Albiceleste Lionel Messi, this fight can be regarded as a place of penance.
In the first game, Argentina was only able to draw 1-1 against the team debutant Iceland. In the game, Messi failed from point 12 fitting.
Croatia down in this second game with more confidence. The cause was of course a 2-0 victory over Nigeria through the suicide of Oghenekaro Etebo and Luka Modric's penalty.
Against Argentina, Croatia are eyeing points. For that, they need to stop Messi. For the sake of doing so, coach Zlatko Dalic did not even hesitate to gather information from midfielder Ivan Rakitic - who is a fellow seklub (Barcelona) Messi.
"I will use all the information," Dalic said as quoted by Reuters. "There is no perfect way to stop Lionel Messi ... He's the best player in the world."
Dalic insists that Croatia will try to stop Messi collectively, as a team
Estimated Players Structure
Argentina (3-4-1-2): Caballero; Tagliafico, Otamendi, Mercado; Acuna, Perez, Mascherano, Salvio; Messi; Aguero, Pavon.
Coach: Jorge Sampaoli.
Croatia (4-2-3-1): Subasic; Strinic; Vida, Lovren, Vrsaljko; Brozovic, Rakitic; Rebic, Modric, Perisic; Mandzukic.
Coach: Zlatko Dalic.
- Predicted Scores
IndonesiaSampaoli is likely to change the game system of Argentina after a draw against Iceland, where their attacks are repeatedly broken. No less important, Argentina need Messi to show his best game.
Argentina would want to rise from failure to achieve maximum points in the first game, but Croatia will present a very tough test.
But Argentina has a row of top players capable of being a differentiator. In addition to Messi, there is Sergio Aguero also Paulo Dybala if demoted. If Messi and his colleagues are able to show maximum performance, a team as strong as Croatia can they beat.
Predicted final score: Argentina 2-1 Croatia.