{"id":23599,"date":"2022-12-14T10:20:36","date_gmt":"2022-12-14T10:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup"},"modified":"2022-12-14T10:58:40","modified_gmt":"2022-12-14T10:58:40","slug":"croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup","title":{"rendered":"Croatia coach says Argentina under greater pressure at World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Mauritius. <\/strong><\/span>Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic has insisted that Argentina are under greater pressure than his team heading into their World Cup semifinal clash in Qatar and spoke of his team\u2019s \u201cstrength of character\u201d as key to their advance through the tournament.<\/p>\n

Croatia \u2014 in the semifinals for a second consecutive World Cup \u2014 continued preparations for their Tuesday-night showdown against Argentina with a training session at their tournament base in Al Ersal on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a great thing to be among the four best national teams for two World Cups in a row. However, we want more,\u201d Dalic told reporters. \u201cWe are playing the great Argentina \u2014 a terrific team led by Lionel Messi.<\/p>\n

They are highly motivated, but they\u2019re under greater pressure than Croatia at this particular moment in time,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have analysed our opponent. We know how they play. We know where they want to take the game, and we\u2019re preparing for them,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Dalic said his team was ready to take on the Argentinians, and his squad\u2019s skill and \u201cstrength of character\u201d had carried them to the semifinals and he hoped it would take them further.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe shall not adapt to our opponent too much. We know their strengths and weaknesses, but will continue to play our own game, and I hope it will yield the right result,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The semifinal match at Lusail Iconic Stadium will pit two of the greatest to wear a number 10 jersey against each other, with Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi, 35, and Croatia\u2019s Luka Modric, 37, vying to be crowned champion for the first time at what is likely to be their final World Cup appearances. Stamina and mental endurance will be crucial to success on the pitch.<\/p>\n

Croatia and Argentina went through extra time and penalties in their quarterfinal victories over Brazil and Netherlands, while seven of the eighth knockout games Croatia played over the last four major international tournaments have gone to extra time, with the 4-2 defeat to France in the final of the 2018 World Cup the only exception as it concluded in 90 minutes.<\/p>\n

They are going to make things challenging\u2019
\nArgentina also trained on Monday, and Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said his team expects a tough game against Croatia. Argentina will also be without two players because of suspension: left-back Marcos Acun\u0303a and right-back Gonzalo Montiel.<\/p>\n

Acun\u0303a is the bigger miss, having impressed since coming into the team after the stunning loss to Saudi Arabia in the group stage, and he is likely to be replaced by Tagliafico.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect a tough match and it is against a really good team. They are a proper team and they play as a team,\u201d Scaloni told reporters in a pre-match conference in Doha on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are going to make things challenging for us,\u201d Scaloni said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have a specific playing style. I don\u2019t think they are going to change that. It is neither defensive nor attacking,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have our system and our style. We won\u2019t change our style. \u201d<\/p>\n

Dalic, who said Croatia was free from injuries ahead of the game, also said he hoped the match against the Argentinians would not be as emotionally charged or ill-tempered as their quarterfinal qualification match against the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

Eighteen yellow cards and one red car were handed out to Dutch and Argentinian players in a performance marred by disciplinary violations from both sides throughout.<\/p>\n

Argentina’s German Pezzella is shown a yellow card by referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz as Nicolas Otamendi and Leandro Paredes react on December 9, 2022, during the match against the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

Argentina\u2019s German Pezzella is shown a yellow card by referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz as Nicolas Otamendi and Leandro
\nCroatia have also previously been on the receiving end of Argentinian temper.<\/p>\n

Following Croatia\u2019s group stage win at the 2018 World Cup, then-Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli refused to shake Dalic\u2019s hand. Dalic said he holds no grudges.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand the actors involved and the expectations were high back then [in 2018]. It happens and we shall not hold any grudges,\u201d Dalic said. \u201cI don\u2019t get angry at anyone in an emotional state of mind.<\/p>\n

Argentina against Netherlands was also quite feisty and difficult with many non-football-related behaviours. I really hope this will not be the case tomorrow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTomorrow\u2019s match is a great match for Argentina as well as us. The stakes are high for both and a spot in the final is at stake,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dalic\u2019s advice to his players and their few fans in Qatar was to enjoy the game. \u201cI always say to our fans and players to enjoy the football,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach of us has to enjoy the work, the profession we are doing. Only if players are happy can they be what they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Mauritius<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Mauritius. Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic has insisted that Argentina are under greater pressure than his team heading into their World Cup semifinal clash in Qatar and spoke of his team\u2019s \u201cstrength of character\u201d as key to their advance through the tournament. Croatia \u2014 in the semifinals for a second consecutive World Cup […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":23598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[233,245,241,514],"class_list":["post-23599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-mauritius","tag-mauritius","tag-world-cup"],"yoast_head":"\nCroatia coach says Argentina under greater pressure at World Cup - Mauritius<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic has insisted that Argentina are under greater pressure than his team heading into their ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Croatia coach says Argentina under greater pressure at World Cup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic has insisted that Argentina are under greater pressure than his team heading into their ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mauritius\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-14T10:20:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-14T10:58:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/sites\/61\/2022\/12\/postQueueImg_1671001034.98.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Croatia coach says Argentina under greater pressure at World Cup\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-14T10:20:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-14T10:58:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup\"},\"wordCount\":828,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/sites\/61\/2022\/12\/postQueueImg_1671001034.98.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Mauritius\",\"Mauritius\",\"World Cup\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup\",\"name\":\"Croatia coach says Argentina under greater pressure at World Cup - Mauritius\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/sites\/61\/2022\/12\/postQueueImg_1671001034.98.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-14T10:20:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-14T10:58:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic has insisted that Argentina are under greater pressure than his team heading into their ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/sites\/61\/2022\/12\/postQueueImg_1671001034.98.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/sites\/61\/2022\/12\/postQueueImg_1671001034.98.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"Croatia coach says Argentina under greater pressure at World Cup\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Croatia coach says Argentina under greater pressure at World Cup\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/\",\"name\":\"Mauritius\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Croatia coach says Argentina under greater pressure at World Cup - Mauritius","description":"Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic has insisted that Argentina are under greater pressure than his team heading into their ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Croatia coach says Argentina under greater pressure at World Cup","og_description":"Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic has insisted that Argentina are under greater pressure than his team heading into their ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup","og_site_name":"Mauritius","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2022-12-14T10:20:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-12-14T10:58:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/sites\/61\/2022\/12\/postQueueImg_1671001034.98.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Croatia coach says Argentina under greater pressure at World Cup","datePublished":"2022-12-14T10:20:36+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-14T10:58:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup"},"wordCount":828,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/sites\/61\/2022\/12\/postQueueImg_1671001034.98.jpg","keywords":["Africa Press","Africa Press-Mauritius","Mauritius","World Cup"],"articleSection":["all news","sport"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup","name":"Croatia coach says Argentina under greater pressure at World Cup - Mauritius","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/sites\/61\/2022\/12\/postQueueImg_1671001034.98.jpg","datePublished":"2022-12-14T10:20:36+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-14T10:58:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic has insisted that Argentina are under greater pressure than his team heading into their ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/sites\/61\/2022\/12\/postQueueImg_1671001034.98.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/sites\/61\/2022\/12\/postQueueImg_1671001034.98.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"caption":"Croatia coach says Argentina under greater pressure at World Cup"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/all-news\/croatia-coach-says-argentina-under-greater-pressure-at-world-cup#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Croatia coach says Argentina under greater pressure at World Cup"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/","name":"Mauritius","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/mauritius\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}