World Cup 2018: 4 key battles that decided Croatia's win over Argentina

In a game that could have passed more for a Rugby game than for a game of World Cup football, Argentina were dealt a huge blow and several blows physically as Croatia crushed them with a 3-0 scoreline.

A Willy Caballero howler led to the opening goal, but in a move that would have made every Real Madrid fan's heart jump with joy, Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic hit the final nail on the coffin with a screamer from outside the box and a tap-in from a counter to put the Argentinians to sleep.

With no bright spots to take away for Argentina, and with the other match yet to be played, long and dark days lie ahead of them while Croatia book their spot in the next round.

As always, there were a few individual battles that went a long way in deciding the final outcome of the game, and here's a look at 4 of them.

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#1 Lionel Messi vs Ivan Rakitic

In the battle of the teammates, Rakitic proved to be far better

Yeah, that wasn't even close.

Teammates at Barcelona, and rivals on the pitch here, it was Rakitic who came out on top. He did pretty much everything a player could do - he fouled hard, he got fouled hard, he scored, he hit the crossbar, he sprayed balls all over the pitch, he got a yellow card, he made a player get a yellow card for tackling him.

Messi, on the other hand, might just as well have not showed up. The lethargy from his Iceland game leaked on to this as well, and as a result, Argentina never really looked like a team that might have a shot at the trophy (or even points, for that matter).

In fact, Messi had fewer touches on the ball in the first half than Willy Caballero, and no matter how you read into this, no justification can be given for that. In the second half, Messi was so frustrated than he even fought it out with Rebic.

It was not just that. Knowing Messi, Rakitic also shadowed him to a T. Denying him a goal scoring opportunity, and staying with him every time he ventured into midfield. Knowing that Messi prefers the left foot, Rakitic saw to it that Messi never got that luxury.

Sampaoli's formation was also one of the reasons for his downfall, but we will get to that disaster a little later.

#2 Sime Vrsaljko vs Sergio Aguero

After a dream start, here was Aguero's nightmare

After his thundering goal in the first game, many expected Aguero to be the savior with Messi as the decoy, but that is one of the jokes Vrsaljko would have told you on the night.

The Atletico Madrid player saw to it that Aguero remained just as useless as the rest of his team, and was rewarded by Sampaoli taking Aguero off for Higuain.

Aguero's lone shot of the night came in the form of a weak shot aimed with indifference at the Croatian keeper, and other than that he didn't really have anything to do. He had no players looking to find him, and when they did he was usually surrounded by the entire Croatian population.

Vrsaljko might have gotten a yellow to his name, but he will be wearing it like a badge of honor more than shame. 2 fouls and 1 tackle do not really bring full justice to his game, as he was one of the biggest reasons why Argentina are going out of this with their heads hung in shame.

#3 Javier Mascherano vs Luka Modric

The best LM10 on the pitch, and by a long distance

See how funny that sounds on paper? On the pitch too, it was just as stupid and one sided.

Despite several claims that Mascherano was shot, and is no longer the player he was a good few years back, Sampaoli stuck with him in midfield, and this is just nature doing its job. This is what you get for playing one of the slowest players against a midfield that has both Rakitic and Modric.

The goal aside, Luka Modric was having a decent day, but put him side by side with Mascherano and things looked so much better. Modric's long balls caused a few problems in the first half, but the goal just elevated him to the next.

Mascherano was also the one who was responsible for the third goal. Instead of getting up and playing till the referee's whistle, he was busy protesting for an offside - which was duly ignored by both the official and the Croats, and the ball ended up in the net with minimal interference.

All said, we will still see Mascherano in the third match, and we will have no idea why.

#4 Jorge Sampaoli vs reason

The jacket came off in the second half, but the tactics never did

The big one really. Every other battle was a byproduct of this enormous one, and this is where Argentina lost the plot.

Why play Caballero in the first place? This is not an over-reaction to his mistake, but he is a substitute goalie at Chelsea, who barely played (13 games overall). There was Armani on the bench, River Plate's starting goalkeeper and who was firmly establishing himself as the best candidate for Argentina.

Where was Dybala? Add Di Maria to that list as well. Benching Dybala simply because he plays in the same position as Messi is one of the worst reasons to be given, and that is not how things work. Messi has played several times on the right, and there is no way Dybala wouldn't have worked out for the team.

And in a must-win game against Croatia - arguably the best midfield in the tournament, you leave out Di Maria. Where was Pavon, who showed much promise in the qualifiers and in the first game as a substitute? Why play Mascherano? If we keep asking questions, and we should, 24 hours will not be enough.

What sort of a formation is a 3-4-2-1? Several matches into Sampaoli's stint, there is still no idea what his preferred formation is. He has played with 3 at the back, 4 at the back, 2 striker up front, 3 in midfield. The WC is not a tournament where you throw things at the wall and hope they stick.

All this flaws in tactics is really what led to Argentina's undoing. You can have a team full of Messis and they would still look just as dull and blunt as the team that showed up today.