It's Messi and Argentina versus the penalty shootout masters, Croatia. The stage is set for what Basheer calls a "really even semi-final."
However, Basheer says Croatia have the edge.
"I think overall, the advantage is slightly with Croatia.
"I think that Argentina relies more on Messi than Croatia relies on Luka Modric.
"The key battleground is going to be the middle of the park to see who can actually get the distribution to the creative players.
"Modric, for mine, is the one who can break the game open. Messi is a goal-scoring phenom, we know that.
"It's a flip of a coin, it really is. I'm just hoping for a great contest."
How to watch the Argentina v Croatia semi-final on SBS
Wednesday, December 14
Semi-Final - Argentina v Croatia
5:30am - 8:30am (AEDT) - kickoff at 06.00am
LIVE on SBS and SBS On Demand
