Argentina-Croatia: How to watch Tuesday’s World Cup semifinal on Fox and Telemundo, TV and streaming

The late soccer journalist Grant Wahl – a phrase as painful to write for the first time as it is necessary – grew up in a typical American suburb.

But while the town of Mission, Kan., was bounded on three sides by highways, Wahl could see farther from an early age. He made it to Princeton for college, and was able to travel from there to some significant places.

One trip brought him back to the Midwest. In March 1996, Wahl went to Indianapolis with Princeton’s student newspaper to cover the Tigers’ legendary upset of UCLA in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. That summer, he had an internship at the Miami Herald. Then he was hired by Sports Illustrated, where he began a 24-year tenure. As LeBron James knows well, Wahl was a great basketball writer. And as the the part-owner of Liverpool and AC Milan also knows, Wahl was America’s preeminent written voice on the world’s game.

» READ MORE: Soccer writer Grant Wahl dies at World Cup match in Qatar

Two years before that trip to Indianapolis, another of Wahl’s journeys opened a set of doors. A connection through Princeton’s men’s soccer coach at the time, Bob Bradley – yes, the future U.S. men’s national team manager – helped Wahl get a summer internship in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It became the launchpad for Wahl’s senior thesis: the intertwining of soccer and politics in a nation with deep passions for both.

In the decades that followed, Wahl rarely betrayed any rooting interests in public. But he had a few of them. The biggest was growing soccer in the United States through rigorous mainstream media coverage of the sport, demanding Sports Illustrated and other outlets treat soccer just like baseball, football, and anything else.

The others allowed him to be a fan once in a while. Wahl loved watching Argentina’s national team, and the famed Buenos Aires club Boca Juniors. It was a sad karmic coincidence that Wahl collapsed in the press box at Argentina’s greatest triumph so far in this World Cup: a win over the Netherlands on penalty kicks after a wild 2-2 tie in 120 minutes.

In Tuesday’s semifinal, Argentina faces another stiff test. Croatia is fresh off toppling mighty Brazil. It does not care whether Neymar, Lionel Messi or any other superstar is across the field. Nor does it care whether you think it’s too defensive. The result is all that matters.

Croatia is one win away from its second straight men’s World Cup final, and this win is undoubtedly achievable.

Argentina is one win away from its second men’s final in the three tournaments. Messi isn’t just playing well, he’s exulting in the work required to carry his country to the one prize he has never won: the grandest prize of all.

Wahl won’t be there to see it in person. Instead, he’ll watch from the stadium in heaven. But if Argentina wins, I imagine he’ll go down from the press box, walk right past the security staff, and get the first exclusive quotes from Diego Maradona.

» READ MORE: Inquirer sports writers and editors who knew Grant Wahl share their memories

Time: 2 p.m.

Venue: Lusail Stadium, Lusail

English TV/streaming: Fox29 and FoxSports.com (John Strong on play-by-play with analyst Stuart Holden, reporter Geoff Shreeves and referee expert Joe Machnik).

Pregame coverage starts at 1 p.m. Postgame coverage on FS1 starts at 4 p.m. The late highlights show is at 9 p.m. on FS1 and midnight on Fox.

Spanish TV/streaming: Telemundo 62, TelemundoDeportes.com and Peacock (Andrés Cantor on play-by-play with analysts Claudio Borghi and Manuel Sol and referee expert Horacio Elizondo).

Pregame coverage starts at 1, and postgame coverage goes until 5:30 p.m. The late highlights show is at midnight.

FoxSports.com and TelemundoDeportes.com require authentication through participating pay-TV providers. Peacock is NBC and Telemundo’s subscription streaming service.

Fox also has replays of every game for free on its streaming platform, Tubi.

Betting odds: Argentina -300, Croatia +255.

» READ MORE: Telemundo has reported on Qatar's controversies, but Fox hasn't

Argentina: Lionel Messi. These daily columns have intentionally highlighted as many other Albiceleste players as possible, to make the point that the team is not all about Messi. This time, it could have been goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, who was spectacular in the penalty shootout against the Dutch.

But really, it’s about Messi. It has always been about Messi: his stardom, his generation-defining talent, and the support of his teammates who’ve given every ounce of themselves to get him a World Cup title. They are so close now. Can they finally do it?

Croatia: Luka Modrić. The 37-year-old midfielder remains as brilliant as ever. He touched the ball 139 times against Brazil and completed 105 of 115 passes, including 22 passes into the attacking third of the field.

This will be the third time Messi and Modrić duel with their national teams. Modrić has won both: 3-2 in a 2006 friendly and a whopping 3-0 in a 2018 World Cup group stage game. They have met many more times with club teams: Messi with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, and Modrić with Real Madrid.

If you’re used to centering the English Premier League in discussions of players’ club allegiances, you aren’t alone. But in much of the world, the Barcelona-Real Madrid rivalry reigns supreme. It will come up again here, especially in Spain. People who cherish it just can’t help it sometimes.