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Argentina reached their sixth World Cup final after defeating Croatia by 3-0 on Tuesday night in the FIFA World Cup 2022 semi-final. The 2021 Copa America champions will square off against France in the final with Argentina's starting XI being one of the most important talking points from the fixture.
Lionel Messi-led La Albiceleste have reached the World Cup final for the first time since the 2014 World Cup, where Germany beat them 1-0 to claim the title. Both, Argentina and France stand a chance to win their third World Cup title.
Argentina have tried different combinations in the World Cup as players like Angel Di Maria and Lautaro Martinez have been given a lesser game time than other players, who play in similar positions. While Di Maria started in Argentina's three group stage games, Lautaro Martinez started against Saudi Arabia and Mexico in the World Cup. The Juventus winger recovered from an injury a few days ahead of the World Cup, however, suffered a muscle overload and missed the Round of 16 clash against Australia.
Angel Di Maria was expected to start against Netherlands in the quarterfinal, but surprisingly was substituted in the 112th minute. However, many believed that Argentina want Di Maria to gain full fitness before the final clash against France.
On the other hand, Lautaro Martinez failed to impress in the World Cup after starting the opening two fixtures for Argentina. The Inter Milan forward was replaced by Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez, who used the opportunity and delivered spectacular performances to freeze his spot in the starting XI.
Paulo Dybala Returns to Argentina Squad
After sustaining a muscle injury during Roma's Serie A clash against Lecce in October, Paulo Dybala returned to the ground for Argentina's semi-final clash against Croatia on Tuesday night. The 29-year-old Dybala replaced Julian Alvarez, who scored a brace, in the 74th minute against Croatia. This has led to the speculations about Dybala starting the World Cup final against France alongside Lionel Messi.
While Di Maria has played 128 matches for Argentina and scored 27 goals and made 26 assists, Dybala has scored three goals and produced six assists in his 35 appearances for Argentina.
Meanwhile, Argentina will square off against France on Sunday, December 18 at the Lusail Stadium in the FIFA World Cup 2022 final. On the other hand, Croatia will face Morocco in the third place play-off on Saturday, December 17 at the Khalifa International Stadium.
