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Updated June 22nd, 2018 at 01:40 IST

WORLD CUP 2018: Argentina vs Croatia, LIVE

Following their shocking 1-1 draw against Iceland in their first match, Argentina play an almost must-win match against Croatia

Reported by: Narayan R
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Pathetic, dismal, shocking, horrible. One can be out of superlatives for Lionel Messi and Argentina's performance against Croatia. It was not a rout, but a humiliation for the 2014 finalists.

A howler from Caballero gifted Croatia the lead in the 54th minute, and after that, it seemed only team was playing. The Argentina attack did absolutely nothing, and showed no desire to equalize.

Luka Modric confirmed the victory for his side in the 80th minute with a stunner. And Ivan Rakitic added gloss to the result in stoppage time. 

Argentina were outrun, outperformed, outplayed and outdone by Croatia in every department. This win means Croatia have qualified for the knockout stage. As for Argentina, well, they aren't out, but on the verge of it.
 

FULL TIME: Argentina 0-3 Croatia 
 

90' + 2': GOAL! Croatia break through Rakitic, and he takes an effort from the edge of the box. It is well saved by Caballero, but the ball falls to Kovacic, who is free. He teases the keeper, and squares the ball to Rakitic, who passes the ball in an empty net.
 

90': What a block from Vida! Meza's effort is on target, but the defender makes a stunning block. Four minutes added on!
 

87': Argentina have lost the plot here. Now Acuna is booked for a poor challenge on Vrsaljko.
 

86': OFF THE BAR! The free kick is taken by Rakitic, and his swerving effort hits the bar. Unlucky!
 

85': It has boiled up here after a tackle from Otamendi. The Argentina defender, in complete frustration, kicks the ball in the face of Rakitic who was fouled. Disgraceful!
 

82': Finally Kovacic enters the field. He replaces Perisic.
 

80': GOAL! Stunner from Modric. The Croatia captain is 25 yards out from the goal. He looks around, and doesn't see much of an option. So he decides to shoot. And what a strike it is! Right in the corner. Argentina 0-2 Crotia
 

79': This has been a criminal of a performance till now by the 2014 finalist. They have been dismal, pathetic, shocking and what not. 
 

76': Things are getting heated up here. Rakitic is down after a tussle with Otamendi, but the Argentina players are not putting the ball out of play. Both the team players are on each others faces when the ball is eventually put out.
 

73': Messi nearly lashes out! Strinic stops the Argentine skipper from moving ahead. After the foul is given, Messi pushes the defender away from his sight.
 

72': Croatia are preparing their second change. Kovacic is prepared to come on.
 

71': He's into the action. Dybala gets the ball on the edge of the penalty area on the right side. He takes one touch and shoots at goal. But his effort is high and wide.
 

68': Final change by Argentina, and the fans like it. Perez is taken off, and Paulo Dybala comes in for him.
 

67': Now Vrasljko gets into the referee's book for a late challenge on Acuna.
 

66': Side-netting! Rakitic plays a stunning cross field pass from left to right. Vrsaljko is there, and he plays an intelligent pass to Mandzukic. At the near post, he can only steer his effort at the side-netting.
 

64': Good save by Subasic. Higuain goes to the byline and cuts back the ball. Meza takes the effort, but its saved by Subasic. The Argentine midfielder has the possession, and back heels the ball towards Messi. He shoots at goal, but it is blocked on the line.
 

58': Yellow card to Mandzukic! He loses possession in the middle of the field, and in trying to regain it, makes a bad challenge on Meza.
 

57': Agony for Rebic. A couple of minutes after scoring, he is forced of the field through injury. Kramaric replaces him.
 

56': Corner for Croatia. Perisic does well down the right side, and puts in a cross. Mandzukic is there, but the defense clears the ball for a corner. Argentina make their second change. Salvio is take off, and Pavon comes in his place.
 

54': GOAL! Howler from Caballero. The goalkeeper tries to play from the back, but his chip pass is horribly miscued. Rebic is the recepient of his mistake, and he gladly dispatches the ball in the net. Meanwhile Higuain has replaced the ineffective Aguero.
 

53': Chance for Aguero! Tagliafico plays a lovely through ball to Aguero, but his effort is straight at Subasic.
 

52': Higuain is all set to come.
 

51': Yellow card for Mercado! Rebic got the ball in his own half, and beat the defender with a piece of skill on the halfway line. He stops his run, and gets a booking.
 

48': Is Messi playing on the right wing, or is he playing as a No.10? There seems to be no clarity.
 

And the second half begins!
 

A stat to make Argentina fan cringe! Messi has had just 20 touches in the first half. Only Aguero (7) has touched the ball fewer times.

What can you say? It's been a very ordinary performance by both the sides. Lionel Messi has been invisible, and has had no impact whatsoever. His opposite number Luka Modric isn't having the best of the games, but he did show his piece of magic on the stroke of half time with a fabulous pass. This result will make Croatia happy, but Argentina will be gutted if it stays like this.
 

HALF TIME: Argentina 0-0 Croatia
 

45' + 2': What a chance for Rebic. Modric plays a great pass to him, and he is through on goal. But the ball gets stuck under his feet, and in the end, he rushes his effort well above the bar.
 

45': Two minutes added on!
 

44': Meza is a lucky boy! He clearly steps on the feet on Vrsaljko, but the referee fails to see it, and doesn't give a free kick nor a booking.
 

42': Good challenge. Messi comes central, and plays a brilliant ball to Aguero's feet. The Manchester City striker is almost through on goal, but Lovren makes a stunning tackle.
 

39': First yellow card, and it's given to Rebic. The Croatian tries to shield the ball, but in doing so, steps one the feet of Salvio. From the touchline, Sampaoli is shouting at the referee to use the VAR.
 

37': He is back upto his feet, much to cheers of Argentina fans.
 

36': Mercado is down for Argentina, and looks in real pain. He collided with Rebic for a challenge mid-air.
 

33': Now Mandzukic misses a sitter! A great cross from the right side by Vrasaljko. Argentina defense are caught sleeping as Mandzukic is free at the far post. But inexplicably, he misses the header completely.
 

30': Perez misses a sitter! A miscommunication between Lovren and Subasic means the ball reaches the Argentine midfielder on the edge of the area. All he needs to do is hit it on target. But he fails.
 

28': Messi tries to affect the game through a pass, but his chipped ball is way beyond Aguero.
 

26': Corner for Argentina. Aguera goes towards the goal, and tries to chip in a ball, but Vida heads it out.
 

25': Messi and Modric have both been very quiet so far. While Croatia won't mind their captain struggling, Argentina want/need their skipper to fire.
 

21': OFF THE BAR! Acuna's mistimed cross hits the bar, and goes off for a goal kick.
 

16': A 50-50 challenge between Rakitic and Perez goes the way of the Croatian. But the Argentina players, including Messi show their displeasure to the referee.
 

13': Brilliant block! Salvio's cross is deflected, and reaches an onrushing Meza on the edge of the box. He seems certain to hit the target, but a brilliant block from Lovren saves the day for Croatia.
 

12': Now chance for Argentina. Perez plays a great ball over the Croatia defense for Messi. But the Argentine skipper just can't get the decisive touch.
 

10': Croatia have dominated the early possession. They have a great chance to score. Rakitic plays a sublime ball over the defense for the onrushing right back Vrsaljko. But his cut back is very poor.
 

7': Otamendi is down after a tackle by Mandzukic, and the Argentine defender is rolling around in pain. How much of it was play acting, only he would know.
 

5': First chance! Perisic is free on the left side, and unleashes a drive after going in the box. Caballero makes a really good save. Corner for Croatia though.
 

2': The stadium is buzzing, with both sets of fans making loud noise. This will be a cracker for sure.
 

KICK OFF!
 

Just 10 more minutes to go. It is a big big game for both the teams. Argentina have to win this match, or else, they face a huge possibility of getting knocked out. As for Croatia, a win would push them into the next round. Though, a draw will also be a good result for them.
 

Here are the two line-ups, and Argentina have decided to make quite a few changes.
 


Following their shocking 1-1 draw against Iceland in their first match, Argentina play an almost must-win match against Croatia. All the talks before this fixture has been about Lionel Messi, and his need to come back to form. Any error in this crucial fixture could mean end of the journey in 2018 World Cup for Argentina 


The first round of fixtures of World Cup 2018 have ended, and they sprung in quiet a few surprises. Many of the teams, who headed into the tournament as favorites, were given harsh reality check. As for the underdogs, they have lit up the tournament with their heartwarming displays.

Russia kicked of the tournament with a thumping 5-0 win over Saudi Arabia in the first match of the competition. The other match in the Group A saw Uruguay beat Egypt 1-0 thanks to a late late goal by Jose Gimenez.

The Group B saw real excitement in the very first game, which arguably turned out to be the match of the tournament. UEFA Euro 2016 winners Portugal and World Cup 2010 champions Spain ended 3-3, and had every element of drama and action in it..Cristiano Ronaldo was the star of the show, scoring a hat-trick, as he brought his team back from death to salvage a point. 

In the other match of their group, Iran narrowly defeated Morocco 1-0.

One of the front-runners to claim the trophy, France were frustrated by Australia in a thrilling encounter, but they came out victorious 2-1 to a 80th minute own goal. There wasn't similar luck for Argentina and Brazil in their respective groups,as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Iceland and Switzerland respectively.

The shocker of the tournament came in the form of Germany's 1-0 defeat to Mexico. The 2014 champions were outplayed and outperformed by the South American side.

In Group G, Belgium comfortably beat debutantes Panama 3-0, but England needed a stoppage time winner to overcome a stubborn Tunisia side. 

The final day of the first round of fixtures saw the biggest upsets. 2014's fairytale team Colombia were stunned 2-1 by Japan. And following that match, Poland, led by Robert Lewandowski, were surprisingly beaten 2-1 by Senegal.

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Published June 22nd, 2018 at 01:31 IST

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