The gold contenders will face the winner of Wednesday’s duel between defending champions France and Morocco on Sunday, while the loser faces the third-place match on Saturday. The title battle may have the same lineup as the last championship four years ago. The Croatians may be the first since 2002 to advance to the finals of back-to-back world champions, while Brazil were even playing for gold for the third time in a row.
Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi has won a string of trophies in his prolific career, including winning the Champions League and South American championship last year, but is still missing World Cup gold. In 2014, the Argentines failed in the final and have been waiting for the World Cup title since 1986. They also won gold eight years earlier.
