Argentina tackles the World Cup semifinals against Croatia with surprisingly few attacking players.
Only superstar Lionel Messi and Julián Álvarez start the game as nominal attackers. The recovered winger Ángel Di María, on the other hand, is initially on the bench. Instead, coach Lionel Scaloni has four strong players in midfield: Alexis Mac Allister, Rodrigo de Paul, Leandro Paredes and Enzo Fernández are all in the starting XI.
The Croatians start with the same starting formation as in the surprising quarter-final win against Brazil. The team is led by captain Luka Modric, with Dominik Livakovic in goal again, who was outstanding against the Seleção. There are also three Bundesliga pros in the starting XI: Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig, Borna Sosa from VfB Stuttgart and Andrej Kramaric from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in the center of attack.
