Prosinecki: 'The midfield is Argentina's weakest point'
* Argentina - Croatia: 2:00 pm on December 14, on MetaSports.
"Croatia has a stronger midfield than Argentina. It's a trio of Modric, Kovacic and Brozovic. Meanwhile, the midfield is Argentina's weakest point. They don't have players to support Messi well enough in the middle." Prosinecki analyzed on 24sata on 12/12.
In the first five games of the tournament, Messi contributed four goals and two assists. According to Prosinecki, on the day the Argentina captain is in high form, Croatia will not be able to win. However, the former midfielder who won the bronze medal at the 1998 World Cup emphasized that Croatia beat Argentina 3-0 when Messi was on the field in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup.
Prosinecki also believes that Messi is under pressure to win the World Cup. Therefore, the Argentina captain is not sure to play well against Croatia.
"Messi is the best player of all time, but for the Argentinians, the World Cup is indispensable. It would be unfair to football if Messi did not become the World Cup champion, but we all know normal football. injustice," continued Prosinecki.
In Group F, Croatia ranked second, drawing 0-0 with Morocco, beating Canada 4-1 and drawing with Belgium 0-0. In the round of 16 and quarterfinals, Croatia won on penalties 3-1 against Japan and 4-2 against Brazil.
According to Prosinecki, Croatia is the type of team that can lose to any opponent but can also win against any opponent. Therefore, even if Argentina is being rated higher, the 2018 World Cup runner-up still has a chance to win in the next semi-final.
Regarding Argentina, the former Croatian player said that the biggest change compared to the 2018 World Cup is his confidence in coach Lionel Scaloni. Through the first 5 matches in Qatar, Scaloni applied flexible tactics with each opponent, and most of the players completed well.
Argentina started the 2022 World Cup with a 1-2 loss to Saudi Arabia, but still managed to lead Group C. In the next two matches, they won 2-0 Mexico and Poland 2-0. In the 1/8 round, Argentina overcame Australia with a score of 2-1. In the quarterfinals, after drawing 2-2 in 120 minutes, they beat the Netherlands 4-3 in a penalty shootout.
"I really liked the way Argentina played against the Netherlands," added Prosinecki.
In 1986, Argentina won the second title with the excellent performance of Diego Maradona. According to Prosinecki, Maradona was the only player who alone pulled the team to the World Cup championship. After the tournament in Mexico, no player has done so, not even Ronaldo Nazario and Brazil in 2002.
The 1986 World Cup was also the last crowned Argentina. Their best performance in 36 years was reaching the finals in 1990 and 2014: both lost 0-1 to Germany.
Prosinecki is a member of the golden generation of Yugoslav football who won the U-20 World Cup in 1987. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, he played for his father's Croatian team. Prosinecki and some former U20 World Championship teammates such as Davor Suker, Igor Stimac, Robert Jarni, Zvonimir Boban were the mainstays of Croatia reaching the semi-finals and winning the bronze medal at the 1998 World Cup.
At club level, he won the European Cup in 1991 with Red Star Belgrade, then went to Spain to play for Real Madrid, Oviedo, Barca, and Sevilla in 1997-1997. Prosinecki hung up his boots in 2005.
