Croatia are a young nation, formed just over 30 years ago in 1991. In that time, though, they have reached the semi-finals of the World Cup on three occasions, at the 1998, 2018 and current tournament.
Argentina, meanwhile, are two-time World Cup winners gunning for their third trophy in Qatar. They'll need to overcome the Balkan country to do so, though, with Argentina and Croatia playing each other in the first semi-final of World Cup 2022 on Tuesday 13 December.
Argentina and Croatia have played each other five times in their respective histories, three times in friendlies and twice more at the World Cup. Their World Cup 2022 semi-final fixture is therefore set to be their sixth meeting, with a spot in the final at stake.
The first meeting between the two teams came in 1994, finishing in a 0-0 draw as Argentina prepared for the 1994 World Cup with a warm-up game against the recently-formed nation.
Argentina and Croatia first met in a competitive setting during the 1998 World Cup, in the group stages of the tournament.
Both sides ended up progressing to the knockout stages, with Argentina losing to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, and Croatia to France in the semis.
They had to wait another eight years before facing each other again after that World Cup group game, with Croatia winning 3-2 in a 2006 friendly.
Once again, it took another eight years before the next fixture involving the pair, Argentina emerging 2-1 winners in a 2014 friendly.
However, Croatia got their own back on Argentina competitively in the 2018 World Cup group stages, running out rampant 3-0 winners. Croatia produced an extremely convincing performance, which helped proved their credentials as they reached the final of that year's tournament.
Consequently, the record between Argentina and Croatia stands at two wins apiece and one draw - come the end of Tuesday, one side will inevitably have the superior record.
A final against either France or Morocco awaits the victor on Sunday 18 December.
