DOHA: Tuesday's World Cup semifinal between Argentina and Lionel Messi and Croatia pits South American flare against the cunning of Luka Modric and a great will to win.

The first African team to ever make it to the World Cup final four will face reigning champions France in the second semifinal on Wednesday. Morocco is known for taking down giants.

Tuesday's World Cup semifinal between Argentina and Lionel Messi and Croatia pits South American flare against the cunning of Luka Modric and a great will to win.

The first African team to ever make it to the World Cup final four will face reigning champions France in the second semifinal on Wednesday. Morocco is known for taking down giants. But first, all eyes will be on the enormous Lusail Stadium, where Messi, at 35, will try to lead Argentina into the final for the second time in eight years against the losers of the 2018 final.

Messi, who lost to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final, is eager to emulate another Argentine hero, the late Diego Maradona, and cap off an exceptional career by eventually winning the World Cup.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward played a key role in Friday's dramatic quarterfinal victory over the Netherlands, which saw a tournament record 18 yellow cards issued and players from both teams engage in a scuffle as the referee battled to regain control.

After winning the penalty shootout, Argentina players appeared to insult their upset Dutch opponents before running off to celebrate. Even Messi, who is typically polite, got caught up in the animosity and yelled insults at Dutch players as he was being interviewed after the game.

In a pre-game press conference on Monday, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni defended his players' actions and insisted they had nothing to apologise for. "Both teams played the game the other day in the proper manner. Football is that "stated Argentina's 44-year-old coach. "This notion that we lack winning strategies is not one I accept. The appropriate strategy was used to play the game."

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