The former Brazilian striker wants to see Messi cry

"I hope Brazil and Argentina will clash in the semi-finals," Fred said on TV Globo. "I want to see that game chaotic, fighting. Neymar will score from the penalty and Messi has to cry."

Fred played for Brazil between 2005-2014, attending and scoring in the 2006 and 2014 World Cups. He spent most of his career playing for Brazilian clubs, except for the period 2005-2009 with Lyon. The 39-year-old striker retired in April 2022 due to many injuries.

Brazil and Argentina have met four times in the World Cup, both with violent scenes. The first was in the 1974 World Cup in West Germany, when Argentina lost 1-2 and were eliminated in the second group stage, equivalent to the current quarter-finals.

Four years later, the two teams drew 0-0 again in the second group stage, but in the end Mario Kempes and his teammates went through and won the championship.

The two teams once again faced off in the second group stage of the 1982 World Cup in Spain. This time Brazil won 3-1 and Diego Maradona received a red card directly for kicking midfielder Batista.

The last time the two teams met at the World Cup was in 1990 in Italy, when Maradona assisted Claudio Caniggia to score the only goal of the game. After the match, Brazil defender Branco accused the Argentine coaching staff of giving him a bottle of drinking water with sedatives. Maradona later said it was "holy water".

To face off for the fifth time in the World Cup, Brazil and Argentina must both beat Croatia and the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. Fivethirtyeight statistics show that Brazil's chance to continue is 77%, and Argentina's is 56%. That means the probability of the two teams meeting in the semi-finals is 43%.