By The Associated Press
LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — The Latest from the World Cup semifinal match between Argentina and Croatia:
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Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni dismissed criticism of his players’ behavior during the feisty quarterfinal match against the Netherlands.
There were 17 yellow cards — a record for a World Cup match — and one sending-off as players clashed on numerous occasions before and after Argentina won a penalty shootout to advance to the semifinals.
“We have to remove this taboo that we do not know how to lose and we do not know how to win,” Scaloni said. “We lost our first game with Saudi Arabia and went quietly to the hotel to continue preparing for what was coming.
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Lionel Messi will captain Argentina and make his 25th World Cup appearance to tie the all-time record with Lothar Matthäus of Germany when Argentina plays Croatia in the semifinals.
Leandro Paredes has been recalled in central midfield as Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni reverts to a four-man defense. Center back Lisandro Martinez has been dropped.
Andrej Kramaric will play up front instead of Bruno Petkovic for Croatia. Luka Modric is the team’s captain.
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Lineups for the World Cup semifinal match between Argentina and Croatia:
Argentina: Emiliano Martinez, Nicolas Tagliafico, Nicolas Otamendi, Cristian Romero, Nahuel Molina, Alexis Mac Allister, Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernandez, Rodrigo De Paul, Julian Alvarez, Lionel Messi.
Croatia: Dominik Livaković, Dejan Lovren, Borna Sosa, Joško Gvardiol, Josip Juranović, Mateo Kovačić, Marcelo Brozović, Luka Modrić, Mario Pasalic, Ivan Perišić, Andrej Kramarić.
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Argentina plays Croatia on Tuesday in the first World Cup semifinal match, and the winner will face either defending champion France or Morocco in Sunday’s final at Lusail Stadium.
Lionel Messi and Luka Modric have led Argentina and Croatia to the final four with stellar performances, and both are looking to cap their careers with a World Cup title.
Messi and Argentina lost in the 2014 final to Germany, and Modric and Croatia lost in the 2018 final to France.
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How do you stop Messi?
Croatia has already ended Neymar’s World Cup by beating Brazil in the quarterfinals. Now it hopes to do the same to Lionel Messi in the semifinals on Tuesday.
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It’s more than Luka Modric in Croatia.
The Real Madrid midfielder isn’t the only player for the big occasion in the Croatia squad. Ivan Perišić is another of the team’s veterans at the age of 33 and has scored more goals at major tournaments than any other Croatian.
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