During Argentina's win over the Netherlands in the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals on December 9, the two sides confronted each other and almost had physical conflict. Some criticized Argentine players for committing "unsporting behavior," which manager Lionel Scaloni denied on Monday.

"I want to finish with this topic," Scaloni said at the press conference. "We played the game in the way we had to play. It was both teams, Argentina and Netherlands, but that's football. You have to defend and attack and in games things can happen. Arguments can happen, and that's why there's a referee."

"We have to put an end to the idea of thinking Argentina is that sort of behavior. We have respect for Netherlands and now we have respect for Croatia. We lost to Saudi Arabia and didn't say anything," he added. "I'm not convinced of this idea of unsporting behavior. We played the game the way we had to play it and there's a referee in charge. We need to put an end to this idea because it's not what we are."

Argentina will play Croatia in the semifinals at Lusail Stadium on Tuesday. The last time the two teams met was during the group stage in the World Cup in Russia in 2018. Back then, Argentina secured a 3-0 win.

Defender Nicolas Tagliafico appeared in Russia with Argentina four years ago, but he doesn't think that game has anything to do with the coming competition. "It's been four years. They have done really good work, they are a good team and a good squad. It's different players now and we are another squad and another team. I think the match will be played in another way. We have analyzed how Croatia play, but we need to think about what we can do to hurt them. We will focus on Argentina and focus on ourselves," Tagliafico said.

Argentina will miss two side backs Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuna because of suspension, against Croatia.

Croatia have gone through two knockout games on penalties before reaching the semifinals. Their defense was very impressive. When asked what tactics he will use again Argentina, manager Zlatko Dalic didn't give any details.

"We want to score goals and get results. We are in the semifinals of the World Cup and that's where the story ends," Dalic said. "They are under greater pressure than we are. It's a very important match for them. They will have a lot of supporters, more than us, and that's a handicap for us but we won't be complaining. We'll play against one of the best football teams in the world so we'll enjoy it."