Four years ago, Argentina began their World Cup campaign with a 1-1 draw to debutants Iceland before losing 3-0 to Croatia, narrowly defeating Nigeria 2-1 to book their place in the knockout round, before losing 4-3 to eventual champions France in the Round of 16. Having defeated Australia and the Netherlands to return to the semifinals, they faced off against Croatia in a match-up that would pit the two last runners-up against each other.

After opting for a back three against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals, Lionel Scaloni reverted to a 4-4-2 that would resemble a diamond in possession, with Nicolás Tagliafico getting the start at left back in the place of the suspended Marcos Acuña, whilst Leandro Paredes came into the team for Lisandro Martínez. Zlatko Dalić, on the other hand, went with the same 4-3-3 formation that defeated Brazil on penalties.

Croatia's Build-up