MESSI’S TURN TO STEP UP
After a disappointing draw against Iceland in the opening game, Lionel Messi will have to find his form when Argentina take on a confident Croatia in what is certainly an important game for the South Americans. With manager Jorge Sampaoli expected to make a few changes to the line-up, HT looks at the talking points from the Group D fixture:
PRESSURE SITUATION
Lionel Messi may have tried his best against Iceland but it wasn’t enough, especially after a penalty miss that denied Argentina full points.
The maestro tried to win the match single-handedly in the closing stages and he will have to try and get his teammates more involved. Messi can take some solace from the fact that he has scored in each of his two previous appearances against Croatia, including his first-ever goal for Argentina.
MORE LIBERTY
Well aware of the threat posed by the Icelanders, Croatia will want to secure their berth to the round of 16 against Argentina. This means that Messi may be awarded a little more room as opposed to the stringent marking by Iceland. Messi will have to be clever in using this free space and try and set up the likes of Sergio Aguero. It will also allow the Barcelona talisman to play his natural game of un-nerving defences by running at them from deep.
FAMILIAR FOES
Messi will be up against his Barcelona teammate Ivan Rakitic, who having played besides Messi since 2014, will be able to provide some inputs on how to stop his club captain. "Of course, Rakitic will be my assistant for the next three days, and we will certainly look for some advice on how to stop Messi," Croatia coach Zlatko
Dalic said. Dalic admitted that he would get inputs from Messi’s Real Madrid rivals Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic as well.
IMMINENT CHANGES
While many predict that Sampaoli will shift to a three-man defence, he is likely to stick with a four-man backline against an adept Croatian attack. Gabriel Mercado could be introduced at right-back as he is a more rigorous marker than Eduardo Salvio. Argentina’s lack of creativity in the midfield was heavily criticised after Sampaoli started Javier Mascherano and Lucas Biglia together. Giovani Lo Celso of
Paris Saint-Germain could replace either of the two and act as the link between defence and attack. Lo Celso could also play a defensive role against Ivan Rakitic or Luka Modric.
Angel Di Maria had a forgetful outing against Iceland, unable to create or provide any attacking threat. He is likely to be replaced by Boca Juniors forward Cristian Pavon, who also has a good rapport with Messi.