DOHA (Reuters) – Croatia will not attempt to stop Argentina superstar Lionel Messi by man-marking him but instead will focus on immobilising the entire team in their World Cup semi-final on Tuesday, they said.
Croatia are bidding to make it to the final for the second World Cup in a row after losing in the 2018 showcase match to France.
They stunned tournament favourites Brazil in the quarter-finals after going a goal down in extra-time but dug deep to bounce back with a late equaliser and force a penalty shootout that they ended up winning.
“We don’t have a specific plan yet for stopping Messi and usually we don’t concentrate on stopping one player but the entire team,” striker Bruno Petkovic told a news conference on Sunday.
“We will try to stop them as a team and not with man-marking. Argentina are not only Messi, they have a number of great players. We have to stop the entire Argentina team,” he said.
Reuters
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