By Isaac Akugizibwe
Two of the World’s finest number 10’s, Lionel Messi and Luka Modric are looking to edge closer to a stellar end of their respective Careers when Argentina and Croatia clash in what is likely to be a pulsating first semifinal of the 2022 FIFA World cup in Qatar tonight.
Argentina needed the safest of Emiliano Martinez’s hands to see off Netherlands in the quarter finals while Croatia stunned the tournament’s top favourites Brazil in a nerve fledgling penalty shootout to reach the last four and looking to making the World final for the second time in a row.
Tonight’s tie could be a career defining moment for both Lionel Messi and Luka Modric,the last of the traditional number 10. For Messi,a win against Croatia will mean that the hero of Rozario is simply a game to ending the long wait, achieving his biggest dream of winning a World Cup for Argentina which was delayed by Mario Gotze’s 117th minute strike in Maracana in 2014.
Argentina last won the World cup in 1986 and it was Diego Maradona’s extra ordinary effort that delivered them the crown that so many Argentines and the rest of the world demand of Leo Messi. He carries the burden to stage a one man heist in Qatar to match Maradona’s exploits.
A win for Luka Modric’s Croatia will see them make history, going to the finals for the second time in a row and this will present the best possible moment for the Real Madrid midfield maestro to atleast try winning the world cup after being humiliated by France in Russia 2018. This would see Modric grab a place among Europe’s and perhaps the world’s greatest of all time, a list Messi could head if victory goes his way.
Lionel messi has already scored four goals in Qatar and has chance to chase for the golden boot but the PSG forward seems more interested in football’s most coveted prize,which is the only thing missing on his collection. He’s particularly the man Croatia must stop if they are to complete a clean sweep of South America by sending Argentina home before Sunday.
Messi is not as agile and faster like he was three or so years ago but his brain is still intact,his feet can still do magical things,some of which are already defining this World cup. His pass for Molina’s goal against Louis Van Gaal’s Netherlands in the quarter finals is arguably the best pass in Qatar so far yet the only man to match or try equaling his potent is Croatia’s captain.
Modric will indeed be the mountain in Argentina’s path to the final and Lionel Scaloni’s side will have to deal with his long range diagonal passes if they are to avoid problems tonight.Like Messi, Modric’s display doesn’t match his age. He has played close to 230 minutes in the last two matches alone but he’s not slowed in anyway.He is as dangerous as when he stunned the Argentines in the group stage match in Russia 2018.
The 2018 Balloon dor’ winner is the last of the world’s finest traditional box to box play makers and victory against the South American champions would take him closer to yet another big achievement. With Chelsea’s Kovacic behind him in that composed midfield, with Ivan Perisic leading Croatia’s attack from the flanks,Modric is capable of ending Messi’s lifelong dream.
The Argentina captain has had more shots (25) and efforts on target (12) than anybody else in the World Cup – with France’s Kylian Mbappe, his Paris St-Germain team-mate, second on both counts. Mbappe leads him 5-4 in the race for the Golden Boot.
Only four players have made more successful passes in the final third than Modric’s 201; Messi is eighth on the list with 171. Modric has made the fifth-most crosses, 28, in the tournament.
The former Tottenham star has also impressed further back on the pitch, with only two players having won possession more times (39) or made more interceptions (eight) than him.
Both teams have displayed some incredible calmness in midfield ochestrated by the composure of their iconic playmakers. And while the Croatians have been extraordinarily resilient in the run up to this semifinal tie , Messi’s Argentina have proved that they can control any game depending on the opponents’ approach.
Argentina have attracted arguably the most passionate of fans in Qatar with majority wearing the iconic messi number 10 kits, giving the world cup an Iconic feel which they wouldn’t love to end as early as now. This is another burden Messi is carrying in Qatar and he is yet to disappoint. The World awaits another moment of magic in today’s nerve stingling encounter.
While Argentina is looking to end a 36 year wait for a world cup and 20 years since a South American country won football’s most prestigious prize, Croatia is looking for it’s very first ever having failed to win in 2018.
