Argentina look to make amends against Croatia
Nizhny Novgorod, June 20 (IANS): Captain Lionel Messi will again be the centre of attraction when Argentina look to recover from their shock draw against Iceland and record a victory against a confident Croatia in a crucial Group D clash here on Thursday.
FC Barcelona superstar Messi missed a penalty which proved costly as Argentina were held to a 1-1 draw by 'tiny' Iceland in their campaign opener in Moscow.
Messi, who is widely regarded as one of the best footballers of all time, struggled in the second half to stir up renewed criticism over his failure to shine for country.
Four years after reaching the final in Brazil where they lost to Germany, Argentina's bid to capture the ultimate glory suffered a jolt and in Croatia they would have an opponent brimming with confidence after registering a 2-0 victory over Nigeria.
If Argentina succumb to yet another defeat, they could be on their way out at the group stage, mirroring their shock first round exit in 2002.
Coming to Croatia, despite their win in the first match, captain Luka Modric's charge with perjury in a corruption scandal which has rocked Croatian football does not augur well for them.
Nikola Kalinic's 'fake' injury, which ruled him out of the World Cup, has left Croatia further dented. The Croatian management has sent Kalinic home reasoning that he refused to come on as a substitute during their win over Nigeria.
Croatia are expected to field an unchanged team, which also includes Messi's Barcelona teammate Ivan Rakitic and Real Madrid star Modric.
France eye knockout berth with win over Peru
Yekaterinburg: France will be keen to book an early place in the pre-quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup when they meet Peru, who are staring down the barrel of an early exit, in a Group C clash here on Thursday.
France beat Australia 2-1 in their opening match last week, while Peru had suffered a 0-1 defeat to Denmark in their campaign opener.
Although the French won their opening game 2-1 against Australia, it was a far from convincing display as their attacking trio of Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe too often looked isolated from their midfield. France scored from a penalty conversion from Antoine Griezmann and an own goal late in the game.
Considering the abundance of talents available, France are expected to play fantastic and flamboyant football. But their forward passing was not good against Australia.
A win for France will eliminate Peru from the group stage, since they lost to Denmark. A draw will keep their hopes alive as one point from Thursday’s game will give them confidence to defeat Australia in their third and final game.
However, Peru defender Luis Advincula is optimistic that a win is possible against France’s strong squad. “It’s going to be a tough match, we all know the quality they have, but we are eleven against eleven,” the defender said. “There are no favourites in this World Cup, it’s been shown.”
Denmark, Australia face-off in crunch Group C clash
Samara: Denmark and Australia will lock horns in a crunch Group C contest in which the European side will aim to register their second consecutive win and seal a knockout berth, while the other team will eye survival on Thursday.
Denmark defeated Peru 1-0 in their opener against Peru, thnaks to a goal from Yussuf Poulsen, while Australia suffered a 1-2 defeat against the pre-tournament favourites France despite putting up an impressive defensive show.
Denmark’s final group stage game is against France. Hence, they will be desperate to register a win against Australia, who will look to ensure that their fate will be decided in the third and final group stage against Peru.
Nobody really gave Australia much of a chance of qualifying from a Group C that contains France, Peru and their next opponents Denmark, and although Bert Van Marwijk’s side gave a good account of themselves against the French, they ultimately ended up with nothing.
Now, Australia face an opponent that has not been beaten for 16 games and has not conceded a goal for five.
Denmark were unconvincing in their 1-0 win against Peru, but a win for the Danes in Samara will see them reach knockouts for the first time since 2002.
