Rakitic: Nobody is prouder to represent Argentina than Messi FIFA World Cup 2018 - Croatia Argentina face Croatia on Thursday evening

Lionel Messi was the subject of heavy criticism following Saturday's 1-1 draw with Iceland, yet Ivan Rakitic believes there isn't anyone prouder to represent Argentina than his Barcelona teammate.

Croatia face Jorge Sampaoli's charges in their second group match on Thursday in the knowledge that victory will see them qualify for the last-16.

"There isn't anyone prouder to represent Argentina than Messi," Rakitic explained in his pre-match press conference.

"When he joins up with the national team, there is a special joy in his face. You can see this clearly, I don't believe that he doesn't want to play for Argentina."

Zlatko Dalic will be forced to come up with a tactical plan to limit the forward's impact on Thursday, with Rakitic aware that there will be no room for error.

"We have to play a perfect match to win," he admitted. "We want to judge ourselves against the best.

"It will be difficult to play against Messi, I hope that tomorrow he doesn't enjoy the match."

Argentina's tactical system has been roundly criticised after failing to beat Iceland, yet there isn't any complacency within the Croatian camp ahead of the fixture.

"The first result hasn't changed whether or not they are favourites for the group or the entire tournament," he intimated.

"This match is completely different to the first, Croatia's way of playing is different to Iceland's.

"It's important for us and Argentina, we expect our opponents to be aggressive and with them having the best player in the world, things could get complicated."