Argentina vs. Croatia 12/13/22 World Cup Soccer Picks, Predictions, Odds

Argentina and Croatia face off on Tuesday in a soccer showdown in the semi-finals of the World Cup at Lusail Stadium. The winner of this game will clinch a spot in the World Cup Final. 

Croatia finished in second place in Group F picking up five points. Croatia has needed penalty kicks in each knockout round game, but they were still able to advance. In the last game, they beat Brazil 4-2 in penalty kicks. It was a goal by Bruno Petkovic in the 117th minute that allowed them to even make it to penalty kicks. The good news for Croatia heading into this game is they look to be fully healthy. It’s expected they might switch to a four-man defense, and that could mean that Lisandro Martínez could move back to the bench. In this game, Croatia needs to make sure they know where Messi is at all times. They can’t let Messi be the player that beats them, and costs them a shot at the final. 

On the other side of this matchup is Argentina who finished in first place of Group C picking up six points. In the Round of 16, Argentina was able to get by Australia 2-1. In the last game against the Netherlands, it took a shootout, but they were able to advance. Nahuel Molina scored in the 35th minute and Lionel Messi scored by penalty in the 73rd minute. Argentina had 48 percent of the possession and five shots on target. Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuna both picked up cards in the last game, and they are now suspended for this game. Alejandro Gomez is working his way back from an ankle injury, and he hopes that he will be good to go in this game. 

This is a game that very well could end by penalty kicks again. This Croatia defense is good, and they are going to do a good job of slowing down the offense of Argentina. I don’t trust their offense, though, and that will lead to this game being lower scoring. At most, this game will have two goals scored at the end of regulation time. Back the under 2.5 goals to cash.