Lionel Messi, facing yet another failure at international level, had little influence on the game as Argentina created one chance in the second half when Maximiliano Meza had a 64thminute effort stopped on the line by keeper Danijel Subasic.
The first half presented both teams with chances to grab the lead. On the half-hour, Enzo Perez missed with an effort inside the Croatia penalty box, putting his shot wide after a defensive mix-up presented him with a chance right in front of goal.
Two minutes later, at the other end, Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic was guilty of similar profligacy as he ghosted in late onto a cross-goal ball but steered his diving header off target.
Meanwhile, France showed the grit and steel that could still take them to the deep end of the World Cup as they beat Peru 1-0 to reach the last 16.
Les Bleus prevailed thanks to a Kylian Mbappe first-half goal, but Peru dominated and could have levelled after the break when Pedro Aquino’s fierce strike hit the post.
Didier Deschamps’s side, however, were aggressive in midfield, with Paul Pogba raising his level and N’Golo Kante winning 13 tackles, after already winning the ball 14 times in the opening Group C game against Australia.
The 19-year-old Mbappe, now the youngest scorer for France at a World Cup, took the man-of-the-match award but Deschamps disagreed, praising midfielder Kante for another top-notch performance at the Ekaterinburg Arena.
“Kante had a great match. He was free in the system we chose,” Deschamps said, referring to France’s 4-2-3-1 formation after fielding a 4-3-3 in their 2-1 win against Australia.