Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic says advancing past Argentina to reach a second successive World Cup final would have to be considered his nation's greatest footballing achievement.

Victory for Croatia on Tuesday would also see them become only the second side after Germany in 2014 to eliminate both Brazil and Argentina in the knockout stages of the same World Cup.

"The semi-final match against England in the last World Cup [in 2018] was the greatest match of all time, the game against Brazil comes in second," Dalic said.

"If we win tomorrow that would make it the greatest historical game for Croatia of all time.

"We are among the four best teams in the world - that is an extraordinary success for Croatia. It is a great thing for two World Cups in a row to be in the four best national teams in football.

"We want more. We are playing the great Argentina, a terrific team led by Lionel Messi. They are highly motivated and under more pressure than Croatia at this moment in time."

Image source, Getty Images

How do Croatia do it? Seriously.

They have a population of less than four million but yet since becoming a Fifa member as an independent nation, they have regularly gone toe to toe with the world's elite, often punching way above their weight.

In 1998, they reached the semi-finals of the World Cup thanks to Davor Suker and the rest. Twenty years later they were back, going one better to reach the final, where they were beaten by France.

And here we are again, with the Croats on the cusp of another World Cup final.

From the 1998 tournament onwards, Croatia have knocked these elite nations out of the World Cup... Germany (1998), England (2018), Brazil (2022). Meanwhile, in the same timeframe England have beaten these elite nations in knockout games:

M'colleague Emlyn Begley has written an excellent deep dive into the two men around whom so much of their respective nation's hopes rest.

So, if you want to know everything about Lionel Messi and Luka Modric ahead of their meeting tonight then I urge you to read that here.

It includes this nice little bit of coincidence...

Messi scored his first Argentina goal and Modric made his Croatia debut in the same game - a friendly between the sides in March 2006, which Croatia won 3-2.

Andy Cryer
BBC Sport in Qatar

Image source, BBC Sport

Unsurprisingly the majority of supporters here this evening are in blue and white.

In fact, the complimentary flag stall has no Argentina flags left - plenty for Croatia though.

The Croatia fans who are here though are making plenty of noise. They believe they can pull off another shock result.

Image source, BBC Sport

Guy De Launey
BBC Balkans Correspondent

Image source, .

Ante (right): "I'm very excited, we're going to win for sure. We will tell Messi "la pa pa" - that means goodbye, see ya! It's very important for the country. It's the biggest excitement since the war. People who were in the war say they never saw people celebrate like this."

Patrik (left): "I don't believe it's happening again. I'm in wonderland, it's beautiful. We're a small country, we love our football team. We live for this game - and the finals, I hope! The country is all together now."

BBC World Service
World Football in Qatar podcast

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Igor Stimac, who played for Derby and West Ham during his playing career, also spoke about Croatia's midfield, saying "they are one of the best in the world".

"It is well-balanced, composed, technically perfect with a great resilience and endurance and fantastic brains and mental strength," said Stimac. "What else you can look for?”

Key to that midfield is Real Madrid man Luka Modric, who has impressed throughout the tournament, despite being 37.

Asked to compare 2022 Modric to 2018 Modric, who was part of the Croatia team that lost in the final to France, said: “A few more years of experience and, I would say, not less energy.

"I think that he’s now a Luka Modric that is much more helping the team.

"Maybe four years ago, he was doing so with many more touches on the ball and the beauty of his game. He’s combining now leadership attitude and quality of his game to direct others to what they need to do and everybody is following him perfectly. That’s amazing to watch.

“Luka is much better now.”

We're inevitably going to talk about Messi a lot more over the next few hours.

But let's not forget that he is not the only little magician probably featuring in his last World Cup and desperate to lead his country to greatness.

Luka Modric, the other number 10 involved in tonight's semi-final, has won a Croatia record 160 caps and scored 23 international goals in an illustrious career that has also seen him win the Champions League with Real Madrid.

He has maybe not posted the same kind of high-profile numbers as Messi in this World Cup, but his industrious, incisive influence has been felt.

The man who makes things tick in midfield was also crucial in the shootout win over Brazil in the last eight, his successful spot-kick making him the first player to score three penalties in shootouts at the World Cup (also netting against Denmark and Russia in 2018).

I wonder what it must be like to be one of Messi's siblings?

"Mum, look, I did this finger painting at school today!"

"That's great... go pin it on the fridge next to Lionel's Barcelona contract while I watch him reach 10,000 kick-ups."

If you want to discover more about Messi and where he came from, the BBC documentary is still available on iPlayer.

Andy Cryer
BBC Sport in Qatar

It has been a long time…

The last time Argentina won the World Cup, a certain number 10 dragged them to the trophy.

More than 30 years on, can their current number 10 produce similar heroics?

He hasn’t done badly so far has he?

Image source, BBC Sport

You thought England were the only team to latch on to songs during a major tournament and make them unofficial anthems? Fools.

An Argentine pop song has become the unofficial World Cup anthem for Lionel Messi and company.

"Muchachos, ahora nos volvimo' a ilusionar" - a song by Argentine nine-piece band, La Moscas - has been ringing out in stadiums across Qatar during the tournament and it's caught fire in the dressing room too.

The band's signature sound is a heady mix of ska, rock and pop and the title of their hit roughly translates as "Boys, We Have Our Hopes Up Again".

It has become a rallying cry for the two-time World Cup-winning nation and their 40,000-strong following in Qatar.

Read more here.

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport at Lusail Stadium

Argentina make two changes to the side that edged past the Netherlands on penalties in the quarter-finals.

Leandro Paredes and Nicolas Tagliafico come in, replacing Lisandro Martinez and Marcos Acuna.

Star man Lionel Messi leads the line alongside Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez.

Argentina XI: Martinez, Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Tagliafico, De Paul, Paredes, Fernandez, Mac Allister, Alvarez, Messi.

Image source, BBC Sport

Croatia stick with the same side that started the victory on penalties over Brazil in the previous round.

It means Tottenham's Ivan Perisic continues in his advanced role, while Celtic's Josip Juranovic plays at right-back.

Rangers full-back Borna Barisic has to make do with a place on the bench again.

Croatia XI: Livakovic, Juranovic, Lovren, Gvardiol, Sosa, Modric, Brozovic, Kovacic, Pasalic, Perisic, Kramaric.

Image source, BBC Sport

What's that? You want to see all of Messi's World Cup goals in one easily-accessible video? Ah go on then...

Andy Cryer
BBC Sport in Qatar

Image source, BBC Sport

Plenty of friendly ‘banter’ going on between the two sets of fans outside Lusail Stadium.

‘They only have Messi’, said one Croatia fan.

‘Modric is no Messi’, replies an Argentine…

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport at Lusail Stadium

Image source, BBC Sport

Souq Waqif tends to be rammed on an evening, with visitors grabbing souvenirs or having a bite to eat.

With temperatures hitting 25C earlier this afternoon, it was pretty quiet with a few Argentina and Croatia supporters dotted around.

As it has been throughout the tournament, Lionel Messi shirts are the most popular ones of choice.

I spoke to Ivo and Enrique who had travelled over from South America, witnessing the 'Skirmish of Lusail' as their side edged through on penalties against the Netherlands.

Asked what the mood was like back home, Ivo said: "It's pretty anxious. People are so desperate for us to win the World Cup after such a long time."

And it could be Messi's final chance at glory.

"No, no," he replied. "No problem if they lose, he will be back for the next World Cup in 2026 if he is still playing at club level."

The little magician will be 39 by then, still one more opportunity to come...?

Messi will equal Germany great Lothar Matthaus' 25-match tournament appearance record in tonight's match.

As well as being Argentina's joint-highest goalscorer alongside Gabriel Batistuta in the competition with 10, Messi is one assist away from equalling Diego Maradona's overall record of eight at World Cup finals.

The big team news for Argentina is that Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez is on the bench after starting the quarter-final win on penalties over the Netherlands.

For Croatia, it is as you were expected with the three passmasters in the middle of the park.

Full team news to come.

We know it, he knows it, his team-mates know it...

Messi's presence will give Argentina a "special advantage" against Croatia in their World Cup semi-final, says defender Nicolas Tagliafico.

Argentina's progress to Tuesday's match has largely been inspired by Messi, the forward scoring four and assisting two of their nine goals.

"He has always been like this," said Lyon left-back Tagliafico.

"For us he is our captain and our leader. He is the one pushing us and motivating us.

"He is the one who gives us that special advantage when we are on the pitch.

"We know we have Messi and it is a great source of motivation and hope because we all know that we can contribute and give our best. We are really happy to have Messi as our captain.

"With everyone's support we are all working together to achieve our dreams, and it is the most beautiful thing to do it with Messi by our side."

Image source, Getty Images

Let's acknowledge this early on... it is impossible to ignore THE overriding narrative for this evening. The one that focuses upon the little magician.

Lionel Messi is probably the finest footballer of this century. He is arguably the greatest player of all time (fight that one out between yourselves). If he is to truly seize either tag, though, especially the latter, he needs a World Cup title under his belt.

While none of us want to write him off prematurely, this feels like his last opportunity to achieve that.

He has left little out there in the event so far, at times dragging his team up to standard singlehandedly. Anyone brave enough to suggest we won't get another Messi masterclass tonight?

Chris Bevan
BBC Sport at Lusail Iconic Stadium

Image source, BBC Sport

All you can see as you exit the Metro station outside Lusail Stadium are Argentina fans and all their songs are about one man - I don't need to tell you who, do I?

Still a real surprise to see an Argentina shirt here without a number 10 on the back of it (either Messi's or Diego Maradona's) so this Angel di Maria fan stands out from the crowd making its way to the match.

Andy Cryer
BBC Sport in Qatar

Image source, BBC Sport

The sea of blue and white is on the march again…

Argentina fans absolutely everywhere as you get off the metro at Lusail.

Image source, BBC Sport