Watch: Aregentina’s intense training video for FIFA World Cup semis goes viral | Football News
With Lionel Messi probably in last ever FIFA World Cup appearance, Argentina take on Croatia in their semi-final fixture, at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar. Considered to be one of the favourites to win the trophy this year, the CONMEBOL side defeated Netherlands in their quarter-final fixture, through a dramatic penalty shootout. Messi once again proved to be pivotal, assisting Nahuel Molina in the 35th-minute to give Argentina 1-0 lead, and then he doubled the lead with a penalty in the 73rd-minute. The Dutch staged a comeback and made it 2-2, courtesy of a brace from Wout Weghorst (83′, 90+11′). The score remained 2-2 at extra-time and then the match got decided by a shootout, with Argentina winning 4-3 in penalties.
This is also the third World Cup meeting between Argentina and Croatia, and first in the knockout stages. Argentina won 1-0 in 1998, before Croatia’s 3-0 victory in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Meanwhile, the South American side will be seeking to reach the World Cup final for the sixth time, a figure bettered only by Germany (8). They have never been eliminated at the semi-final stage before, recently beating the Dutch in 2014.
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Ahead of their semi-final fixture, the Argentine team participated in an intense training session featuring the likes of Messi and Emiliano Martinez. Here is the video:
Speaking at a press conference, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni also pointed out his team have analysed Croatia and their weakness. “Croatia have troubled many national teams. I won’t mention the key players or their strengths and weaknesses but we’ve analysed where we can hurt them. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t”, he said.
“We try to give it all on the pitch. Sometimes luck can be on your side. If we have a good performance, we’ll have an easier road to reach our objective. But this is football, this is sport, so sometimes the best team may not win”, he further added.
Scaloni also revealed that he would not change his system for the semi-final. “We have our own system, our style. Of course, in certain situations we need to take into account how the opponents are playing. We won’t change our style beyond the system and that’s what we’re going to do. During the game we will of course make decisions and rise up to the challenge”, he stated.
