World Cup 2022: Why to expect a goal contribution from Argentina's Lionel Messi against Croatia

The nerves of both nations were tested in penalty shootouts in the quarter-finals, with La Albiceleste prevailing 4-3 against the Netherlands, while the Checkered Ones caused an upset against Brazil to win 4-2 from 12 yards.

Argentina and Croatia are now just one victory away from booking their place in Sunday's showpiece event, and while the latter will fancy their chances of reaching a second successive World Cup final, the former will be regarded as favourites, largely thanks to the presence of one star man in their side.

Regarded by Lionel Scaloni and many others as 'the best of all time', Argentina captain and leading goalscorer Lionel Messi will be hoping to continue his fine form in Qatar with another standout display on Tuesday as he bids to keep his dream of winning his first-ever World Cup alive.

The 35-year-old's impressive form in 2022 hints at some kind of goal involvement against Croatia and the Paris Saint-Germain star could be the key to unlocking their robust backline.

After a long settling-in period at the Parc des Princes, Messi has since shown his qualities for PSG in the 2022-23 campaign, contributing to 26 goals in just 19 appearances across all competitions (12 goals and 14 assists).

Messi has also excelled on the international stage since the turn of the year, scoring 15 goals and providing five assists in just 12 appearances for Argentina.

Six of those goal contributions have come in five matches at this year's World Cup, with Argentina's No.10 recording four goals and two assists so far.

In the group stage, Messi converted from the penalty spot in Argentina's shock 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia, before scoring and assisting in the 2-0 victory over Mexico.

The attacker drew a blank in Argentina's final Group C game against Poland, which finished 2-0 to the South Americans, but he got his name on the scoresheet again with a fine strike from outside the area in a 2-1 win against Australia in the last 16.

Messi then contributed to both of Argentina's goals in normal time against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, with an exquisite assist for Nahuel Molina followed by a coolly-taken penalty kick.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner is now Argentina's joint-record scorer at the World Cup with 10 goals along with Gabriel Batistuta, and he is the only player in history to have provided an assist at five separate World Cup tournaments.

In total, Messi has scored 95 goals and registered 54 assists in 170 international matches for Argentina, and having contributed to three goals already in the knockout rounds of the 2022 World Cup, the legendary forward will be confident of making his mark against Croatia on Tuesday.

To further boost Argentina's hopes of finding the net, Croatia have conceded at least once in each of their last eight World Cup knockout matches, while La Albiceleste have scored in 48 of their 55 international games under the tutelage of Scaloni, a run dating back to November 2018.

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