And then there were four.
Over the past three weeks, the 2022 FIFA World Cup has witnessed an abundance of historic goals, dramatic upsets, and unforgettable moments.
While Canada was unsuccessful in escaping the group stage, there are plenty of locals who are still holding out hope for their home countries that remain in the tournament.
Among them are Croatia and Argentina – two teams that will face each other on Tuesday with a spot in the World Cup final on the line.
Croatia earned a spot in the semi-finals for a second straight tournament on Friday after eliminating a heavily favoured Brazil side in penalty kicks.
For John Glavota, a long-time Sault resident and former hockey player on Croatia’s national team, his nation’s surprise run to the semi-finals has been electrifying.
“We didn’t expect this,” he says. “Everybody’s beyond ecstatic. For a nation of 4 million people to be in their second straight World Cup semi-final says a lot.”
Glavota’s parents were born in Croatia, and they moved to the Sault in the early 1970’s.
He has fond memories of competing on a Croatian soccer team in town, and he always enjoyed watching the World Cup every four years.
Despite heading into a tough test against superstar Lionel Messi and Argentina on Tuesday, Glavota has hope.
“Why not them?” he says. “Argentina’s obviously the favourite, but as a fan, I don’t think Croatia is too worried. They just took down the number one favourite in Brazil and played one hell of a tactical game, and now they’re playing an Argentine team that probably isn’t as good as Brazil but is still dangerous.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if this is an overtime win for Croatia,” he adds.
Glavota has enjoyed watching the matches with Richard Majic, a history teacher at St. Mary’s College who also has Croatian ties through his parents.
Because Croatia’s core has aged since the 2018 World Cup, Majic explains their run at this year’s tournament was a complete shock.
“For them to make it to the final in 2018 was unbelievable,” he says. “After that, people were thinking we would have to wait another generation for this to happen again. And here they are four years later, back in the semi-finals.”
Majic says scoring is still a bit of a concern for the Croatian side, but they have a weapon between the goal posts.
“Their goalkeeper Dominik Livaković has been incredible; arguably the best goalie in the tournament,” he says. “He might be moving to a bigger team after the World Cup. He’s definitely turning some heads.”
“I predict Croatia takes it 2-1,” he adds. “It’s going to be tough; I’m just hoping for a good game. We’ll see what happens.”
While the history teacher is getting his classes to hop on board the Croatian wave, he won’t have any luck convincing his Grade 10 Argentine student Polo Bruno to cheer for the Croats.
“It’s been so exciting and so intense,” Bruno says. “Argentina have battled hard to get here.”
Bruno’s parents moved from Argentina to the Sault in 2002 when his dad got a job with Tenaris.
According to Bruno, Argentina’s strategy to beating Croatia should be relatively simple.
“Get the ball to Messi, and hopefully he can score some goals,” he says.
Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo have been involved in arguably the greatest debate in sports: who’s the better player?
Bruno says this World Cup should silence that discussion.
“If Messi wins the World Cup, this removes all doubt who the best player is,” he says. “I think he’s the greatest of all time, but that would seal it. If he gets the World Cup on his shoulder, that should end the debate.”
Bruno was 7 years old when Argentina lost in the final against Germany in 2014.
He has fond memories of going to the John Rhodes to watch the games there with his family and friends.
He routinely watches every game with his dad, uncle, and brothers, and stays in touch with his family back in Argentina when they play.
“It’s been really tense,” he says. “Losing the first game against Saudi Arabia made the other group stage games more intense.”
“Croatia’s a really good team,” he adds. “Argentina needs to play smart and make good passes because Croatia easily has the best midfield out of any of the teams in the World Cup. Their defense needs to be on point – no dumb challenges or bad tackles.”
Meanwhile, defending champion France will take on underdog Morocco in the other semi-final match on Wednesday.
If Argentina makes the final, it’s safe to say Bruno has a preference for their opponent.
“I’d rather them face Morocco,” he says. “France just have so many fast, talented superstars. Don’t get me wrong, Morocco is very good, but I think there’s a better chance against them than France.”