Twenty22’s World Cup semi-final matches will have the two “David and Goliath” stories. Morocco has put together a stunning run that has made them immortalized in history as being the only African team to get this far in knockout rounds. Croatia beat every obstacle to beat Brazil as the favorite for the tournament. It’s possible to say this 2022 World Cup has been a thrilling ride and there’s no doubt that it will remain that way until the final day. Take a seat, people and each stage of the tournament will only increase the intensity and, if previous rounds set the tone for the tournament, the intense semi-finals are sure to produce a truly thrilling match.
In one corner in one corner, we have Croatia who was able to take off the tournament giants, even though they had only one shot at goal to Brazil’s 11. In the opposite corner, we have Argentina which lost a 2-0 lead in the final minute of the game and came through with penalties to beat the powerful Netherlands team. Argentina was the most likely to make it to the finals, while Croatia was not, however this is of no consequence to soccer’s gods which have enjoyed a great time with unexpected upsets this season.
The odds of winning are calculated at 50 percent chance that Argentina is victorious, with an 88% chance of an outcome that is drawn, which could result in extra time which Argentina would prefer to avoid, as Croatia has a sense of magic at 12 yards. Argentina is bound to ensure that they are at a regular pace, but eight of Croatia’s nine knockout games have been played into extra time. Even with the brilliance and shrewdness of Lionel Messi and company, it may be a tougher task than you think.
Croatia has a formidable defense. They could decide to slam the hatches to make penalty kicks, as well with goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic in great form, the chances are acceptable for the team. Livakovic is only the third goalie to prevent four penalties from shootouts in the same World Cup. But Argentina’s goalie, Emiliano Martinez, is an expert, having been able to save two PKs during the game with the Dutch. If the game is decided by penalties and the Croatian PK power may not suffice.
La Albiceleste has made it to the final each time they’ve been in semi-finals however, only fools would be fooled by Croatia. With their strong defense, Croatia is not a team that is able to relax into a good night, and with center-midfielder Luka Modric on their side, the team may be able to slow the pace of Argentina’s top 10 players – the word that is key is, “might.”
To get into the second round Croatia will have to defeat the second from two South American giants, the first team since 2014 Germany to achieve this feat Personally I’m not convinced this will be the case. I believe Croatia has exhausted its miraculous events and Argentina has already gotten their massive upset from the way by defeating Saudi Arabia. With their upset over and a game that was so close against the Netherlands and the Netherlands, the Argentinians take nothing for granted. In addition, Messi is in his moment of the villain’s arc and I’m not saying it in a negative sense. Messi has been trying to win the trophy for his country all of his career, and now with the final chance to win it, no reason to alter his determination and focus. We’ve seen the things that this man can do so there’s no need to go into detail.
I believe it will be a more competitive game than is comfortable for Argentina fans, perhaps even the game will go to overtime, however they’ll be able to win in the end with an overall score of 2 to 1.
