Argentina and Lionel Messi face Croatia’s Luka Modric at the World Cup in Qatar.

Argentina and Lionel Messi meet Croatia in a World Cup semi-final on Tuesday, pitting South American flair against Luka Modric’s skill and a remarkable battling spirit. On Wednesday, incumbent champions France will face giant-killing Morocco, the first African nation to reach the World Cup’s last four. But first and foremost, all eyes will be on the cavernous Lusail Stadium, where Messi, now 35, will seek to lead Argentina into the final for the second time in eight years against the 2018 defeated finalists.

Messi, who defeated to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final, is eager to emulate another Argentine hero, the late Diego Maradona, and to crown an extraordinary career by eventually winning the World Cup.