World Cup 2022 LIVE: Lionel Messi’s Argentina set for Qatar semi-final with Luka Modric’s Croatia

Croatia are hoping Argentina’s bad-tempered World Cup quarter-final qualification over the Netherlands with 16 yellow cards and one red will not spill over into Tuesday’s semi-final, coach Zlatko Dalic said on Monday.

The Argentines eventually prevailed on penalties after squandering a two-goal lead but the game was marred by disciplinary violations from both sides throughout.

Argentina captain Lionel Messi exchanged words with Dutch coach Louis van Gaal following the final whistle and called a Dutch player ‘a fool’.

Croatia, runners-up in 2018, have gotten their own taste of Argentine temper in the past following their group stage win over them at the 2018 World Cup with then-Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli refusing to shake Dalic’s hand.

But Dalic, whose team beat tournament favourites Brazil also on penalties to advance to the last four for the second World Cup in a row, said he bore no grudges.

The Football Association will consider foreign candidates to replace Gareth Southgate if the England manager decides to stand down from his post, the Daily Telegraph reports.

The paper adds that former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino and ex-Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel are among those open to the prospect of succeeding Southgate, who said he needed time to consider his future as England head coach after the World Cup quarter-final exit against France.

Croatia will keep it as settled as possible, with only Josip Stanic a doubt, though he hasn’t been a starter anyway. The big decision once more for Zlatko Dalic will be who to start as the third attacker, along with Ivan Perisic and Andrej Kramaric. Bruno Petkovic through the middle or Mario Pasalic on the right are the most likely options.

Argentina will have at least one change to their starting XI, as Marcos Acuna is suspended. Nicolas Tagliafico will therefore come in at left-back. On the other side of defence Gonzalo Montiel is also suspended, though he’s behind Nahuel Molina now in any case. Lionel Scaloni went for a three-man back line against Netherlands but could revert to 4-3-3 here, which means either Angel Di Maria or Lautaro Martinez might be considered for a recall.

As Lionel Messi starts to find the right words to go with the right touches, some of them surprisingly aggressive, there’s been a telling phrase used to describe him around the Argentina camp.

They talk of the 35-year-old as a “líder Maradonina”, a Maradona-like leader.

After his first major moment of the World Cup 2022, which was that essential and exceptional goal against Mexico, Messi was seen looking to the sky and mouthing “gracias Diego”. His teammates now speak of the “spirit of Diego”, and the 35-year-old is also being described as a “man possessed”.

While Argentine football can be overly invested in the emotion and influence of the metaphysical – one player has instructed the friend of an agent to stay because his arrival “brought good luck” – there are very real acts and effects to this. It could be seen in the aftermath of the quarter-final. The Netherlands’ Wout Weghorst had come over to try and swap shirts but Messi was still in battle mode, offering that now famous line as he broke from an interview. He was still consumed by the intensity of the contest.

The Argentine players meanwhile talk of a captain who is leading by example in every sense, so loudly encouraging them, giving team speeches. The various football figures that form the extended entourage have at the same time noted they’ve seen this before, and that it’s “like 1986”.

Big match preview, by Miguel Delaney

The first semi-final of the 2022 World Cup sees Argentina face Croatia with a 7pm kick-off on Tuesday 13 December. The winners face either France or Morocco in the final.

This game will be broadcast live on ITV 1 and STV, while it can also be streamed on ITV X and the STV Player.

The two Ballon d’Or winners have inspired their teams to the last four of the tournament as their country’s respective captains, and both are looking to go one step further after reaching the final before by lifting the World Cup and capping their legacies with the ultimate prize.

Follow updates on the build-up to the World Cup semi-finals and all the latest news from Qatar 2022 in today’s live blog