2018 FIFA WORLD CUP – Argentina vs Croatia PREVIEW
Lots of talent on show for this one. A game that features Messi, Modric, Aguero, Rakitic, Higuain, Mandzukic. Argentina started their tournament with a disappointing 1-1 draw against Iceland, meanwhile Croatia did a good job with a 2-0 win against Nigeria. Argentina can’t afford to lose because they could be put in a very tough situation, meanwhile Croatia can secure R16 qualification with a win.
ARGENTINA
Argentina are coming into this game needing a win. The first game did not go to plan for Argentina as they drew 1-1 with Iceland. Argentina were on top of that game, but got punished once and couldn’t retake the lead. Messi did not look like himself, missing a penalty and just missing shots throughout the game. Argentina looked very shaky at the back whenever Iceland counter attacked them and their GK position proved to be a weakness as Caballero looked very shaky in goal. Argentina weirdly did not use Dybala at all in that game and at this point it’s pretty obvious that Sampaoli has something against him that he chooses to play players from Argentinian league over than the young star. It was a very unconvincing performance by Argentina to start it off and they have to get better.
Coming into the 2nd game, the biggest key for Argentina will be to sort out their backline. Given the fact that Croatia have one of the best midfields in the tournament, they will find spaces and cut Argentina open if their struggles at the back continue. We should expect to see Dybala play because he’s too talented to be rotting on the bench while players like Meza and Pavon get to play. Finally, Messi has to be on his game. Croatia will be organised just as well as Iceland and it will be tough to break them down, however Messi is that player who can provide that bit of world class to break down an organised side, he couldn’t do it against Iceland so I expect him to have a much better performance against Croatia and other players need to help Messi out to create chances. If Argentina sort out their backline, Caballero plays with confidence in goal and their creativity improves then they should be in good position to win. However if they slack again they’ll get punished and could very well lose.
CROATIA
Croatia started off their world cup campaign with a win. They beat Nigeria 2-0 in what was a solid, professional performance. Can’t say anyone really stood out from the Croatian side, but their overall play was good. They didn’t give up chances to Nigeria, got a bit of luck with the first goal and then made it 2-0 from the penalty. Something that worried me before that game was the pace of the Nigerian footballers which Croatian back 4 lack, but they dealt with it perfectly shutting out any danger from Nigeria. Lovren and Vida proved to be a solid defensive partnership in that game and hopefully for Croatia, they continue to play at that level as the quality of opposition gets a lot stronger this time round. Finally, Modric put in a typical solid display in midfield. An all around decent win for Croatia from which they should build on. It’s a performance that they can improve on, but as for the first game they weren’t bad.
Coming into the game against Argentina, I wouldn’t call Croatia favourites, but I do think they have a 50/50 chance. As a team Croatia are better, but Argentina have Messi who can make the biggest difference here. Croatia’s backline has to stay solid because Argentina will bomb forward and if they click they can make it incredibly tough for Croatia. Lovren has to perform to his full capabilities and make sure the doesn’t make any silly mistakes like he sometimes likes to do. Coming forward, I think this is where Croatia can take the game. Because Argentina have an average defence and a goalkeeper that means technically top class players like Modric, Rakitic, Perisic can cut open that Argentinian suspect defence. If Croatian midfield clicks and Mandzukic is on his game then coming forward I could see them punishing Argentina’s average back line. Argentina looked suspect at the back against Iceland, so just imagine what Croatia could do to them. With a win Croatia guarantees themselves a place in R16.
Predictions
We should expect an interesting game here. Both teams are evenly matched, full of creative attacking talent. It’s a game that could go either way really and we all hope that the stars come to play because so far some of the stars have been very disappointing including Messi. We should expect Messi to bounce back and find the back of the net in this game, but I think Croatia will respond to that with a solid attacking play of their own. Can see Argentina’s back line get exposed in this game even more. It’s a really hard game to predict, I think a draw might be the most suited result between these teams, but don’t be surprised if someone stole the game late. 1-1 draw seems like a realistic result here, maybe a 2-1 win to one of these teams.
Group Standings
1 Croatia 3 pts +2 GD
2-3 Argentina 1 pt 0 GD
2-3 Iceland 1 pt 0 GD
4 Nigeria 0 pts -2 GD
ODDS – Decimal (WilliamHill)
Argentina Win – 2.15
Draw – 3.20
Croatia Win – 3.60
KICK OFF – 21st June 2018 – 7pm UK Time
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