WORLD CUP TV
ARGENTINA VS. CROATIA
Where: Lusail Stadium; Lusail, Qatar
Time: 11 a.m. PST
TV: Fox, Telemundo, Peacock Premium
The buzz: It will be something of a miracle if this game, matching the last two World Cup runners-up, is decided in the regulation 90 minutes because five of Croatia’s last six World Cup elimination games have gone to extra time, as have four of the last six for Argentina. Croatia has become a giant killer in this World Cup, eliminating secondranked Belgium in group play and sending Neymar and No. 1 Brazil, the heavy tournament favorites, home in the quarterfinals. Now it gets Argentina and Lionel Messi, who is making a final push for the World Cup title he needs to cement his legacy. Croatia’s strength is a midfield of Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic, and no team has been tested more thoroughly in the last two World Cups. In Russia in 2018, Croatia advanced through the first two rounds of the knockout stage on penalty kicks, then won its semifinal in extra time to reach the final unbeaten. It lost there to France. This time, it has beaten Japan and Brazil on penalties to get back to the semifinals, leaving it unbeaten in five World Cup games that have gone to extra time, winning four of those in penalty kick shootouts. Croatia has lost just once in its last 12 World Cup matches and just once in its last 21 international matches overall, but it has scored multiple goals only once in five games in Qatar and didn’t score at all during the regulation 90 minutes in three of those matches. Argentina drew nine of the World Cuprecord 18 yellow cards shown in its quarterfinal win over the Netherlands, and as a result two players — defenders Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuña — are suspended for the semifinal. The South Americans last played in the semifinals eight years ago in Brazil, eliminating the Netherlands on penalty kicks after playing to a scoreless draw. Argentina’s penalty kick win over the Dutch in the quarterfinals here was its fifth in World Cup play, the most by any team. Argentina came to Qatar riding a 36-game unbeaten streak, then lost to Saudi Arabia in its opener. It has run the table since then. If Messi plays Tuesday, it will mark his 25th World Cup appearance, tying Germany’s Lothar Matthaus for the most ever. Messi is second in this tournament with four goals and, with two assists, has played a role in six of this team’s nine goals in Qatar. Argentina’s 32 shots on goal are second only to Brazil.