'Very suspicious' - Croatia boss Dalic unhappy after Argentina awarded penalty in World Cup semi-final

Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic has questioned the decision to award Argentina a penalty during his side's 3-0 World Cup semi-final defeat.

Messi opened scoring from spot
Keeper Livakovic penalised for foul
Dalic unhappy with referee's decision

WHAT HAPPENED? The spot kick was awarded after Julian Alvarez poked the ball beyond Dominik Livakovic and the two collided in the Croatia box. Lionel Messi subsequently converted from 12 yards to give Argentina the lead.

WHAT THEY SAID: "The first goal as very suspicious, to be honest. First, we had the situation with the corner. Apparently [we should have had] a corner, according to the reaction of our players. Then we had the situation with the penalty... It was a little bit too cheap and easy."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Messi's penalty set Argentina on their way to a comfortable victory and a place in the final, which had by no means looked the obvious outcome from an evenly matched opening half an hour.

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IN TWO PHOTOS:

Getty Images

Julian Alvarez Dominik Livakovic Argentina Croacia Qatar 2022

Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

WHAT NEXT FOR DALIC? Despite the disappointment of a heavy defeat in the semi-finals of the World Cup, Dalic vowed in his post-match interview to continue as Croatia boss until Euro 2024.