The first of 2022 Fifa World Cup semi finals sees Argentina take on Croatia on Tuesday and the South America's start as odds on favourites
Odds provided by Sunbet are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change.
The winner of this tie will meet either France or Morocco in Sunday's final and as we are down to the last 4 nations let's take in an outright betting update to win the tournament.
France 21/20
Argentina 16/10
Croatia 8/1
Morocco 19/2
Argentina
Argentina's quarter final match up with the Netherlands went the full distance with the South American's eventually coming through on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw.
Argentina looked to be heading through with a degree of comfort after Messi provided a first half assist for Molina to open the scoring and Messi doubled the advantage from the penalty spot on 73 minutes. The Dutch came back with a goal on 83 minutes and an equalizer deep into a lengthy spell of injury time and the game boiled over with 17 yellows cards in total and 1 red for a Dutch player and Argentina keeper Emi Martinez saved 2 spot kicks.
Argentina came up against Australia in the Round of 16 and they came through with a 2-1 win. Lionel Messi gave them a first half lead and Julian Alvarez made it 2-0 early in the second half. Australia pulled a goal back thanks to a massive deflection on 77 minutes but Argentina held firm and there was no further scoring.
Argentina topped Group C with 6 points, 2 clear of Poland who edged out Mexico on goal difference.
In their opening match Lionel Messi put them in front from the penalty spot against Saudi Arabia. It could have been 4 or 5 by half time but they failed to add to their tally and amazingly Saudi turned it around in the second half to win 2-1.
Argentina put themselves on the board with a 2-0 win over Mexico in their second group match. Messi opened the scoring on 64 minutes and Enzo Fernandez scored a cracker of a second.
Coming into their final group match all 4 nations had some sort of chance to qualify and Argentina held their nerve with a 2-0 win over Poland thanks to goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez.
Croatia
Croatia were very much the underdogs for their quarter final match up with Brazil but they also came through on spot kicks after the game finished all square, 0-0 after 90 minutes and 1-1 after extra time.
They fell behind in extra time before Bruno Petkovic equalized on 117 minutes. Croatia were foot perfect with their 4 spot kicks and their keep Dominik Livakovic saved one and another failed to hit the target.
Croatia booked their quarter final place with another penalty shoot out win over Japan after a 1-1 draw. They conceded just before half time but Perisic squared things up on 55 minutes and the game failed to produce another goal before Dominik Livakovic saved 3 Japan spot kicks.
Croatia came through Group F as runners up to Morocco with Belgium the headline departure in third and Canada never got in a blow.
Croatia played out 0-0 draws with Belgium and Morocco either side of a 4-1 win over Canada where a brace from Kramaric and goals from Livaja and Majer helped them through.
Croatia beat Argentina 3-0 in a group stage match at the 2018 finals in Russia and they went all the way to the final where they lost to France.
The Betting:
Argentina are 8/10 to win in regulation time with the draw at 47/20 and Croatia can be backed at 9/2
A game of 3 goals or more (90 minutes) is priced at 29/20 and it's 11/20 for both teams to score.
Messi is 29/10 to score the first goal and 5/4 to score during regulation time.
To qualify for the semi final via any method Argentina are 4/11 and Croatia are 43/20
The Verdict:
Croatia are a a side that hold few if any surprises but once again they are proving they have serious staying power and I'm looking deep into alternative markets for a betting interest.
Messi is predicably short to score but his price ofr assist does make some appeal. I don't expect a card fest this time but Argentina can be wind up merchants and Croatia's Dejan Lovren is my candidate for yellow. Finally an Alexis Mac Allister shot on target would do nicely.
Bets: To give an assist Lionel Messi? (yes) at 9/4 with Sunbet.
To get a card? Dejan Lovric? (yes) at 12/5 with Sunbet
Player's shots on target (Settled using Opta data) Alexis Mac Allister 0ver 0.5 (yes) at 12/5 with Sunbet
Sunbet, Claim your 1st deposit bonus of up to R1,000 here
Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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