World Cup 2022 briefing: Modric, not Messi, could be the man to stop

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The Croatia legend also plays on a different plane and will lead a masterful midfield in the semi-final against Argentina

“Messi may be the star of this summer” said Peter Drury in 2006 as a certain 18-year-old Argentinian skipped inside Croatia’s Stjepan Tomas before bending a beautiful shot inside the far post from the edge of the area. Messi’s first international goal came in his sixth appearance, in one of those meaningless mid-season friendlies organised in a neutral country (literally Switzerland in this case), and we know the rest of the story. He became not so much the star of the summer as the star of the century (so far).

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from Football | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/dec/13/world-cup-2022-briefing-modric-not-messi-man-to-stop-croatia-argentina

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