By Basit Jamiu
Croatia will meet Messi’s Argentina later tonight to fight for a spot in the FIFA World Cup final.
The much anticipated match has generated a lot of momentum and players are talking about how they will approach the test.
On the Croatian front, they are not failing to acknowledge that it is one of their biggest tests in this tournament. Not surprisingly, they have a lot to say on how they are going to dismantle the Argentines.
“We don’t have a specific plan to stop Messi. Usually, we don’t concentrate on stopping just one player but the whole team,” Josip Stanisic, a Croatian player said.
“We need to stop them as a team, not man marking one player or using similar tactics,” he said.
He noted that Argentina is not just about Lionel Messi: “They have a number of other good players, so we will have to devise a means to stop the whole team,” he said.
Croatian defender, Josko Gvardiol said that they are not afraid of the Argentine talisman, insisting they are fully confident of their abilities.
“We don’t have to fear anybody, we need to believe in ourselves. We will do a thorough analysis with the head coach and will see how to approach the game,” he said.
Commenting on his side’s success, he said it is down to their unity: “Our success has been majorly based on unity. The fact that we play as a family. We have a great midfield in Croatian history. When I pass to them, it is safer than having money in the bank,” he said.
Luka Modric’s side eliminated Brazil on penalty shoot out after an exciting 120-minutes. They would be looking forward to pulling a similar upset against Lionel Scaloni’s team.
