“Passing them the ball is safer than putting money in the bank”. The phrase, one of the most original of the World Cup, corresponds to Josip Juranovic. It is clear that the Croatian right-back did not live in Argentina at the time of the corralito.

But the phrase serves to demonstrate the Croatians’ confidence in their strong point: the midfield. A Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic Juranovic refers and coach Zlatko Dalic nods enthusiastically, explaining what he did against Brazil. “We have the best midfield in the world. They put the rival to sleep. We managed to take the ball away from him, we were never in a hurry. We didn’t create many chances but we did what had to be done”, underlined the coach on a 1-1 draw and the subsequent victory on penalties to get Neymar and his teammates out of Qatar. One of the biggest coups of Qatar 2022.

“When Brozovic, Modric and Kovacic are there, we control 90% of the match”adds Juranovic. And that’s what they want to repeat against Argentina: run the game at your own pace. Against Brazil, possession was shared almost 50% per team.

The three of them were decisive so that Neymar, Vinicius, Richarlison and company did not surpass them, as many expected. They understand the game, control the times and are characterized by a lot of patience.

The three went through the lower ranks of Dinamo Zagreb and have been competing at the highest European levels for years. Experience is what they have left.

Luka Modric, 37 and ten at Real Madrid, where he won five Champions Leagues, made 17 appearances in his fourth World Cup for Croatia. He was chosen as the best player in Russia 2018 and it is more than current. Against Brazil he played 120 minutes.

Marcelo Brozovic, 30, has been playing for Inter since 2015 and this is his third World Cup, with 12 games played. The thing about him is order, the link between defense and midfielders.

Mateo Kovacic, 28, arrived at Inter in 2013, then moved on to Real Madrid (he has four Champions League titles on his resume) and currently plays for Chelsea. It is also his third World Cup, with 13 appearances. His style is mixed, a midfielder who defends a lot but can surprise in attack.

The three were together in third place at Russia 2018, and in the 3-0 win against Argentina. They know each other by heart.

Brozovic is the one who plays furthest back, as a holding midfielder. Kovacic helps him on the left and Modric has more freedom: he’s the one who manages the times with the ball at his feet.

“He never loses the ball”recently declared Carlo Ancelotti, his coach at Real Madrid, about the winner of the 2018 Ballon d’Or.

“In front of defence, Brozo is the best in the world,” praised his Inter team-mate Nicoló Barella.

The midfield is central to Croatia’s game, providing balance and supporting a defense that has conceded just three goals in five games and not scored more than one in any of them. It is true that goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic excelled (especially on penalties) and central defenders Dejan Lovren and Josko Gvardiol (20 years old, one of the world’s revelations), but the three centre-backs make their task easier. Everyone will aim to stop Messi.

Coach Zlatko Dalic has already anticipated it: there will be no individual pursuit, it’s not the system the team uses. The bet is on the collective. Messi is everyone’s job.

As Modric explained: “Obviously Leo is very big, he is their best player and we will have a lot of difficulty stopping him, but we are prepared and will give our best. I hope it’s enough to be in the final.”

The idea, it seems, is to try so that Messi doesn’t have the ball so muchand for this they will try to pass it to Modric, Brozovic and Kovacic, which according to Juranovic is “safer than putting the money in the bank”.

What Croatians don’t know is that Argentines don’t trust banks much.