Even the usually-unflappable Lionel Messi lost his cool in the aftermath of Argentina’s bad-tempered win over the Netherlands, hitting out at Dutch goalscorer Wout Weghorst after the game and labelling him a “fool”.
Weghorst had apparently only approached Messi to suggest swapping shirts.
Messi’s outburst was an indication of the raw emotion which is charging Argentina as they prepare for tonight’s World Cup semi-final against Croatia.
Nicolas Tagliafico was offered the chance to play down the Argentine fire, but instead made no apology for their apparent hot-headedness against the Dutch and suggested it would continue tonight. “It’s two teams going for a dream,” said the left-back.
This emotional energy is obviously connected in large part to Messi, who has said this is his final World Cup.
Lionel Scaloni’s side appear fuelled by a sense of destiny in Qatar, and every game Messi plays at this stage of his career feels loaded with historical significance.
Argentina’s emotion is also connected to their unrivalled support and tonight’s match — back at Lusail Stadium, where they began the tournament with a defeat by Saudi Arabia and hope to end it in Sunday’s final — is set to be like another home game for Scaloni’s players.
There are an estimated 50,000 Argentines in Qatar, while they have been adopted by a huge percentage of locals and neutrals, and blue and white stripes are expected to outnumber the Croatian checks to an even greater degree than they did Dutch orange on Friday. The way the players have celebrated every victory in front of their fans speaks to their passion.
Their support can be both advantage and disadvantage, however, and Argentina’s players appeared to sense the nervousness of the crowd against the Dutch and Australia in the round-of-16, making far harder work of both matches than they should have.
La Albiceleste were indebted to goalkeeper Emi Martinez for making a smart save in the seventh minute of stoppage time to stop Australia forcing extra-time, while Weghorst equalised in the 11th minute of injury time after Argentina had squandered a 2-0 lead.
They showed character to win on penalties but should never have gone the distance. Scaloni said: “It is new to reach the eight, nine or 10 minutes of extra time and that creates some insecurity, especially for the team that is winning. That is a whole new situation in this World Cup. To have 10 or 12 minutes of added time creates uncertainty.”
The pressure of playing both alongside Messi and for him — of trying to help him win the only prize that has eluded him and the one he wants the most — is both an inspiration and a potential weight on his team-mates.
Argentina’s habit of wobbling feels particularly relevant for tonight’s game, because Croatia have established themselves as the side who simply will not give up, and never know when they are beaten, as they showed in their own quarter-final against Brazil.
There is no team who will feed off Argentine nerves more than Zlatko Dalic’s side, who are themselves powered by a sense of history, memories of the past — notably the 1998 and 2018 squads — and their own little magician in Luka Modric.
Messi is playing his fifth World Cup and Modric his fourth, and the semi-final inevitably feels at least in part like a battle between the pair, who share a history of rivalry in Spain.
Croatia are aiming to reach consecutive World Cup Finals — and be the first side since Brazil in 1994, 1998 and 2002 to do so — but one of the most remarkable aspects of another against-the-odds run is that Modric is in a minority of survivors from four years ago.
Tottenham’s Ivan Perisic, Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic also provide continuity, as well as technical excellence, but 18 of Dalic’s 26-man squad were not in Russia.
New heroes like Bruno Petkovic, who scored against Brazil, and centre-half Josko Gvardiol have emerged.
Dalic yesterday ranked their semi-final win over England in Russia as the greatest game in Croatian history, but says beating Argentina would surpass it, and heaped the pressure on their opponents.
“This is an extraordinary success for Croatia: two World Cups in a row to be among the four best teams,” said Dalic.
“We are playing the great Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, and they are under greater pressure than Croatia.”
How the Argentines deal with that pressure could be the key.
