FIFA World Cup 2022: Marvellous Messi fires Argentina to WC final as Alvarez grabs two

It was a match fitting for the occasion. Argentina and Croatia, the two powerhouses of modern football went toe-to-toe against each other in the first semifinal of the FIFA World Cup in front of a capacity crowd at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar. However, it was one man and phenomenon that stole the show and it was none other than Lionel Messi.

Messi scored one and assisted two goals as Argentina steamrolled the Croatian challenge 3-0 to give their talisman a chance at achieving greatness for posterity.

While the scoreline may flatter, the start of the game was tentative for the South American side.Argentina went into the game by making two changes from their last match against the Netherlands. Nicolas Tagliafico and Leandro Parades came into the squad replacing suspended Marcos Acuna and Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez.

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Meanwhile, Croatia went into the game with the same team that beat Brazil on penalties. The midfield of Kovacic-Modric-Brozovic that ran through the Brazilian midfield of Casemiro and Paqueta was given a stiff challenge by Scaloni who made the tactical changes.

Argentina played a midfield four with MacAllister, Enzo, Paredes and de Paul attempting to stop the tank of a Croatian midfield. During the first half-an-hour of the game, Croatia looked compact and the midfield three managed to gobble up most of the Argentine transitions.

Against the run of time, the first save of the match came in 25th minute when Livakovic had to be on alert from a sweet strike from Enzo Fernandez from outside the penalty box.

Messi starts to weave his magic wand

Just when it looked like Croatia were dominating the ball, Messi rose to the challenge and started making things happen. The little master began dragging Gvardiol, arguably the best defender of the tournament from his left-centre-back position and into the midfield.

This allowed Argentina to knock the ball behind the Croatian defence with Julian Alvarez galloping forward, inviting goalkeeper Livakovic to foul him and earn a penalty.

Notably, prior to the penalty, Modric had pulled off a nutmeg deep in Croatian territory to start a move that flowed beautifully up until it didn't. Messi took the penalty and promptly dispatched the ball to the back of the net.

It was Messi's 11th goal in 25 World Cup games and the fifth of this tournament which brought him level withKylian Mbappe in the golden boot race.

Alvarez's fleet-footed, solo goal

A mere five minutes after the goal, Argentina broke through the water-tight Croatian defence once again. Alvarez was served by Messi deep from the Argentine side of the pitch from wherethe Manchester City player made a good 40-50 yard dash with right-back Nahuel Molina providing the decoy run.

While most players would have looked for options to the right and left, Alvarez, brimming with confidence went toe-to-toe with the Croatian defenders and courtesy of some luck and two ricochets, managed to finesse the ball past goalkeeper Livakovic.

WATCH | Julian Alvarez's stunning solo goal in the FIFA 2022 World Cup semifinal

Trailing at half-time, Croatian coachZlatko Dalić was forced to make two substitutes as Nikola Vlasic and Mislav Orisic came on for Sosa and Pasalic. Few minutes into the second half, Croatia were dealt another blow as their midfield maestro Brozovic felt something and was forced to make way for previous match hero Bruno Petkovic.

With a two-goal lead to defend and Croatia bombing men forward, Argentine coach Scaloni went for defensive changes as he brought on Martinez for Fernandes. Till the hour mark, Croatia did not have a single shot on target, suggesting Argentina had done their part of the bargain decently well.

Box-office Messi on display

Perhaps, the most Messi-esque moment came in the 69th minute when Messi single-handedly beat Gvardiol in the Croatian penalty box to set up Alvarez for his second goal.

The 2018 finalists kept knocking but with no finesse in the final third, the opening goal never arrived. While Argentine no. 10 Messi was weaving his magic on the field, his compatriot Luka Modric was taken off the pitch in the 81st minute to a rousing reception from the Croatian record, in what was perhaps his last game on the world stage.

Messi's men will now look to earn Argentina their third World Cup trophy as they take on the winners of Morocco vs France game on Sunday. This will be Argentina's sixth appearance in the World Cup finals.

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