Argentina vs Croatia Prediction, Lineups, Results & Betting Tips

Lionel Scaloni’s men edged a dramatic affair against the Netherlands last time out in a match that required penalties to separate the two. Meanwhile, Croatia shocked the world by knocking out tournament favourites Brazil in the last round and they’ll now be looking to make it a double whammy against South American opposition.

Argentina vs Croatia Stats

• Italian referee Daniele Orsato has awarded at least five cards in both of his appearances so far, including Argentina vs Mexico
• Croatia have lost the corner count in both knockout games so far
• Argentina’s opponents have been awarded an average of 3.6 cards per game so far this tournament

Argentina vs Croatia Prediction: 

Betting Tip: Over 4.5 cards

Argentina arrive into this semi-final having edged a clash of the ages match against the Netherlands. Referee Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz was taking no prisoners and throughout the course of the entire match, brandished 16 yellow cards, 10 of those arrived in the initial 90 minutes.

Now things get serious as both sides know a positive result here would see them snatch a place in the World Cup final. I’m expecting a fiery encounter between these two sides. This will be Lionel Messi’s last World Cup and it's clear to see how badly his team mates want to do it not just for themselves, but for him too.

However, Croatia will have other ideas and with their ability and experience in situations like this, you can guarantee they’ll make it tough. They’ll make it physical and referee Daniele Orsato, who is awarding an average of five cards per match this tournament, may be given no choice but to show an abundance of cards,

All things considered, I like the look of cards in this one. Over 4.5 cards in total is priced at just 5/6 at some bookmakers. As such, the 5/4 available on the same selection makes plenty of appeal.

Betting Tip: Argentina -1 corner handicap

The corner markets have been quite generous throughout this tournament and I think there is value to be had on La Albiceleste covering a corner handicap in this one.

I expect this one to play out in a similar pattern to Croatia’s game against Brazil in the last round with Zlatko Dalić’s men looking to frustrate, be solid in defensive situations and look for their midfield trio of Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic, and Luka Modric to dictate the pace and be the creators in transition.

Argentina look like they have the bit between their teeth and it looks as though Lionel Scaloni could revert back to a 4-3-3 formation with Julian Alvarez and Angel Di Maria lining up either side of Messi.

If that’s the case, I want to be on the side of Argentina corners. They should dominate possession and I think they’ll occasionally have space to run in behind. Should Croatia somehow go in front, that would make this pick even more appealing and so in what should be a closely fought matchup, I'll have a play on Argentina covering a -1 corner handicap.

Argentina vs Croatia Results

Argentina vs Croatia Team News 

Argentina:

• Angel Di Maria featured from the bench in Argentina's semi-final win over the Netherlands and might return to the starting XI here
• Lionel Scaloni changed to a 3-5-2 for Friday's penalty shootout success and may revert to a more familiar 4-3-3, with Di Maria and Julian Alvarez flanking Lionel Messi
• Full-backs Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuna are suspended, with Nicolas Tagliafico set to deputise for the latter

Croatia:

• Josip Stanisic remains a doubt for Croatia, but is their only injury concern for Tuesday's semi-final
• Zlatko Dalic may reward Bruno Petkovic with a starting spot after he scored from the bench late on against Brazil to take that quarter-final tie to penalties

Argentina vs Croatia Lineups

Predicted lineups are brought to you by WhoScored.com.

Argentina

Martinez, Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Tagliafico, De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister, Di Maria, Messi, Alvarez

Croatia

Livakovic, Juranovic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Sosa, Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic, Pasalic, Petkovic, Perisic

Argentina vs Croatia Score Prediction:

Argentina 1-0 Croatia