But the Croats proved really threatening. On the fifth minute, Ivan Parisic raced down into the box and fired, but the ball was deflected at the fingertips of Caballero.

Then in the 32nd minute, Sime Vrsaljko sent a cross from the right to Mario Mandzukic, whose diving header went wide left.

On the other side, Argentina has wasted a few chances, especially when Enzo Perez struck at an empty net, only to see his shot wide left of the net.

Lionel Messi, who scored his first goal for Argentina against Croatia in a friendly back in 2006, failed to score again for his team. The Argentina captain had few chances touching the ball, only 20 times in the first half, while his teammate, Sergio Aguero from Manchester City, touched the ball only seven times.

Argentina have been crowned twice in World Cups, with the latest in 1986. It finished second in 2017. The last time Argentina failed to win either of their first two World Cup games was in 1974.

"I think the win was fully deserved, but it wasn't easy," said Luka Modric. "That first goal, in the second half, followed a mistake. It was a shot in the arm for us."

"We've emerged from the group after two games. We've beaten Argentina with the best player in the world - Messi - and we played a fantastic match, everything was top notch," said Zlatko Dalic, coach of Croatia. "However, we have to be calm, humble, dignified."

Argentina reverted to a three-man defence in the crucial game. "I had to devise a plan for this match. If I had set things up differently, things might have turned out much better," said the disappointed Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli.

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