Argentina vs Croatia: Battle of Goalkeepers Dominik Livakovic vs Emiliano Martinez in FIFA WC Semifinals

Argentina vs Croatia: Battle of goalkeepers: Dominik Livakovic vs Emiliano Martinez- As the FIFA WC Semifinal between Argentina and Croatia awaits, it deems to be a battle of the goalkeepers. While Dominic Livakovic faces the threat of Lionel Messi who stands second in goal contributions, while Emiliano Martinez might have to pull off his penalty heroics once again. Argentina and Croatia both needed penalty shootout victories to advance to the World Cup semi-finals, and this match at Lusail Stadium has the potential to go the distance once more. Follow FIFA World Cup 2022 LIVE Updates with InsideSport.IN & Watch FIFA WC LIVE Streaming on Jio Cinemas.

Argentina vs Croatia: Battle of goalkeepers await as Dominik Livakovic goes against Lionel Messi, Emiliano Martinez faces another penalty shootout threat in FIFA WC Semifinals- Check Out

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Argentina vs Croatia: Battle of goalkeepers await as Dominik Livakovic goes against Lionel Messi, Emiliano Martinez faces another penalty shootout threat in FIFA WC Semifinals- Check Out

Argentina’s captain, Lionel Messi, and Croatia’s No.10, Luka Modric, may hold the key to breaking down their opponent’s defence. If they break through the defence, they will confront two of the tournament’s best goalkeepers.

Emiliano Martinez, Argentina’s keeper, made two saves in the shootout victory over the Netherlands. While Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic made one penalty save against Brazil, he also made three against Japan in the round-of-16 shootout.

Argentina vs Croatia: Battle of goalkeepers await as Dominik Livakovic goes against Lionel Messi, Emiliano Martinez faces another penalty shootout threat in FIFA WC Semifinals- Check Out

For Croatia, it has always been about teamwork rather than individual achievement. But the spotlight is on one guy in this historic victory: Dominik Livakovic. Livakovic has justifiably captured a large portion of the spotlight in this World Cup. In the Round of 16 encounter against Japan, he saved three penalties to enable his team get to the quarterfinals. Livakovic made 11 saves in 120 minutes against Brazil in the quarterfinals. To force the match to penalties, he denied the talismanic Neymar four times, Lucas Paqueta twice, and Vincius Jr and Antony once apiece.

The match went to penalties after the score was deadlocked 1-1 after 120 minutes. In the shootout, he saved Rodrygo’s first penalty to keep Croatia ahead, and it finally won the shootout after Marquinhos missed the deciding penalty. Livakovic faced a total of 21 shots on goal, 10 of which were successful. He kept the ball five times out of the 11 saves he made. Livakovic has a remarkable save percentage of 91.

Argentina vs Croatia: Battle of goalkeepers await as Dominik Livakovic goes against Lionel Messi, Emiliano Martinez faces another penalty shootout threat in FIFA WC Semifinals- Check Out

Lionel Messi made headlines with a goal and possibly the biggest assist of the tournament in Argentina’s dramatic quarterfinal versus the Netherlands. But it was goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez who stole the show in the penalty shootout.

Emiliano Martínez saved three penalties in the 2021 Copa America semi-final and Argentina went on to lift the trophy. Now he’s stopped two more in a World Cup quarter-final. His opening save from Virgil van Dijk was at full-stretch and set the tone.🧱 pic.twitter.com/gzBQn87qyM

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) December 9, 2022

Martinez didn’t have to do much during the game. The Netherlands assault did not provide much of a threat until after the 80th minute, when Wout Weghorst scored two late goals to force extra time. The goals, though, could not be blamed on the Argentine goalkeeper.Martinez, however, had the last laugh in the penalty shootout. He saved the first two Dutch penalties, from Virgil Van Dijk and Steven Berghuis, to put the Oranje under pressure, and it paid off as Argentina won the shootout 4-3.

Martinez’s performance against the Netherlands was reminiscent of the Argentina-Colombia Copa America 2021 semifinal encounter, in which the goalkeeper made three saves in the shootout.