Lionel Messi became Argentina’s top scorer at the World Cups as he produced one of the most comprehensive World Cup scores of the midweek action. They will compete against either France or Morocco on Sunday, both of which are taking part in the semifinal on Wednesday. Messi scored the game’s opening goal from the penalty spot (34) against the run of play after controversially receiving a penalty for a collision with Croatia goalie Dominik Livakovic while playing for Man City. The 35-year-old Argentine now has 11 goals, passing Gabriel Batistuta as the competition’s top scorer. Croatia collapsed after giving up the opening goal, and five minutes later Argentina scored again, this time capitalizing on some terrible defending by Alvarez, who doubled their lead (39).
Messi took matters into his own hands to make sure that the game was settled. Before setting the ball up for Alvarez to score Argentina’s third goal, he worked a moment of magic down the right to defeat Josko Gvardiol. Since Diego Maradona led his nation to victory in Mexico in 1986, when they last advanced to the final and fell to Germany, Argentina hasn’t won the World Cup.
In the first 30 minutes, Croatia dominated, and Messi mostly went unnoticed as he crossed the field at the Lusail Iconic Stadium and waited for his teammates to get going. Just after the halfway point, Alvarez earned a penalty that completely changed the course of the game. A straightforward Argentina pass over the top caught Croatia off guard, as Alvarez was taken down by Livakovic after pushing the ball beyond the goalkeeper. Argentina took the lead after Messi converted from the penalty spot, just as he had against the Netherlands in the previous round.
After initially appearing to be in control, Croatia began to lose their composure and took another hit five minutes later when Alvarez carried the ball from his own half and calmly finished past Livakovic to score it 2-0. The ball may have bounced off Celtic right-back Josip Juranovic and back into Alvarez’s path unintentionally, but Borna Sosa gave way under pressure and let the 22-year-old get in on goal despite flailing his leg ineffectively.
In an effort to change the tide of the match, Croatia substituted Bruno Petkovic, who scored an extra-time equalizer in stoppage time in last week’s quarterfinal against Brazil. However, Messi had other plans. The Paris Saint-Germain forward turned the 20-year-old inside out with a breathtaking run down the right flank before cutting it back to Alvarez from the byline, determined to give himself one more chance to win the one prize that has escaped him.
Alvarez became the youngest player to score twice in a World Cup semi-final or final since Pele in 1958 when he made no errors from just outside the six-yard box. Messi now has the opportunity to complete his trophy collection on Sunday with his final World Cup performance.
“This is really entertaining me. I feel fantastic and powerful enough to take on any contest. The last game was a significant sacrifice,” Lionel Messi said after the game. “Although we were worn out today, we mustered the fortitude to secure the victory. We did a great job playing, and we opted to play this style as we anticipated that they wouldn’t have the ball. We anticipated having to flee. We did an excellent job of preparing. I’m overjoyed about this World Cup. I can assist the squad. We had gone six matches without losing, so I would say the first game—the loss to Saudi Arabia—was a big blow. We didn’t anticipate losing to Saudi Arabia after a World Cup start like that.”
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