DOHA – One is often a picture of calm and poise, the other has developed a reputation for gamesmanship and less-than-savoury antics to gain an edge over opponents.

The Diplomat and The Disruptor could once again take centre stage for their respective countries at the World Cup, when Argentina meet Croatia in the semi-finals at the Lusail Stadium on Tuesday.

Both Dominik Livakovic and Emiliano Martinez have emerged as penalty shoot-out heroes for their respective nations to get to this stage.

Livakovic kept out three penalties in the last-16 shoot-out win over Japan, and another in the quarter-final to help Croatia knock out Brazil, while Martinez saved two in their last-eight win over the Netherlands.

Both shot-stoppers, however, have contrasting personalities.

Livakovic, 27, has established himself as one of the top goalkeepers in Qatar, conceding just thrice in nearly 400 minutes of play as an unflappable last line of defence for a resilient Croatian machine.

But he could have easily taken a different path and hit the books. His father was a construction engineer and top civil servant, while his grandfather was a radiologist and his grandmother, an English teacher.

Livakovic had enrolled in a university to study diplomacy and international relations but has put his studies on hold.

“It’s still something I’d like to do later in life,” he told Croatian newspaper Jutarnji in 2018.

Instead, he has embraced the stadium as his classroom, and he is acing his tests. Said Livakovic: “Honestly, I like playing big matches, that adrenaline and the atmosphere that can be felt in the air.

“That’s when I have the highest concentration.”

In the biggest game of his life, Livakovic made 11 saves in 120 minutes against Brazil, the joint highest at this World Cup. His penalty heroics have also helped him enter the record books.

His three stops against Japan are the joint-most in a single shoot-out, along with Portugal’s Ricardo (against England in 2006) and compatriot Danijel Subasic (against Denmark in 2018).

Livakovic is also tied with Subasic for most penalties saved overall in a single tournament (four), along with Argentina’s Sergio Goycochea in 1990.

The Dinamo Zagreb custodian is poised for a move to one of Europe’s top clubs in the new year, with Bayern Munich the latest to be linked after Manuel Neuer broke his leg in a skiing accident following Germany’s group-stage exit.

Dinamo will no doubt review his price tag, which was reportedly as low as €5 million (S$7.1 million) before he rose to prominence in Qatar.

For now, though, Livakovic is focused only on helping his team of rugged toilers, forged by hardship and strife, go one step further than they did in Russia four years ago, when they fell to France in the final.

“We are experienced – and we are raised as fighters. We spare no efforts, we are giving our best – and that is the recipe for success,” he said, after the Brazil game.

While Livakovic’s quiet, steely determination will occupy the space between the posts at one end of the Lusail Stadium on Tuesday, a more vocal, animated figure will be at the other.

Argentinian shot-stopper Martinez might even bust out a little jig if he feels so inclined.

The 30-year-old did just that after he saved Dutch midfielder Steven Berghuis’ penalty, immediately getting up off the ground to celebrate after parrying the shot. He was facing the section of about 100 Netherlands supporters, too.

At club level, the Aston Villa goalkeeper also performed a similar dance at Old Trafford to rile Manchester United fans, after Bruno Fernandes had blazed a penalty over the bar in their English Premier League clash in 2021.

“The fact I danced in front of the crowd at Man United,” he later explained, “was because I could hear people insulting me all throughout the game.

“When they missed a penalty, I remembered all the s*** they were talking about me.”

Martinez carries with him a siege mentality that he developed clawing his way out of poverty growing up in Mar del Plata, on the east coast of Argentina, and spending years trying to prove his worth before getting opportunities at club and international level.

“I had seen my dad crying late at night because he could not pay the bills. I remember the day that me and my brother ate and not my mum and dad,” he told British newspaper The Telegraph after winning the FA Cup with Arsenal in 2020.

That triumph – Martinez played only because Gunners’ No. 1 Bernd Leno was injured – proved to be his breakthrough. The following month, he joined Villa for £20 million (S$33.2 million) and won the club supporters’ Player of the Season award in his first year.

He also finally made his debut for Argentina in June 2021 – a decade after his first senior call-up – before going on to star in Argentina’s Copa America victory weeks later.

He was named goalkeeper of the tournament and his biggest contribution was stopping shots from Colombian trio Davinson Sanchez, Yerry Mina and Edwin Cardona in their semi-final. In typical Martinez fashion, he engaged in trash talk to rattle his opponents.

“I am sorry but I will stop you, bro,” Martinez yelled before he saved from Sanchez. He then told Mina: “You’re nervous. You’re laughing because you’re nervous... I know you. I know where you’ll shoot and I’ll eat you up.”

La Albiceleste went on to defeat Brazil in the final for their first major title in 28 years.

No wonder, after the Netherlands game, his former international teammate Pablo Zabaleta called him “a little bit mad”.

Then again, it is said there is a fine line between madness and genius. And whether it is the book-smart Livakovic or the street-smart Martinez who comes out on top in their semi-final on Tuesday, both will want to be at the centre of it all.