Argentina is to face Croatia on Tuesday night (1:00 am) in a World Cup semi-final.
But first, all eyes will be on the cavernous Lusail Stadium at 10:00 pm local time (1:00 am Bangladesh time), where Messi, is to attempt to guide Argentina into the final for the second time in 8 years against the beaten finalists in 2018.
Messi, who suffered a defeat to Germany in 2014 final, is desperate to crown an extraordinary career by finally winning the World Cup and emulating another Argentinian legend, the late Diego Maradona.
Messi was a pivotal figure in Friday’s stormy quarter-final win over the Netherlands, when a record 18 yellow cards were shown and players from both sides were involved in a melee as the referee fought to regain control.
The match ended with Argentina players appearing to taunt their distraught Dutch opponents before sprinting away to celebrate a penalty shoot-out win.
Even the normally mild-mannered Messi was caught up in the bad blood, shouting abuse at Dutch players while he was being interviewed after the game.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni defended his players’ conduct in an eve-of-game news conference on Monday, insisting they had nothing to apologize for.
“The game the other day was played in the right way by both teams. That is football,” said the 44-year-old Argentina coach.
