Argentina’s star player Lionel Messi got the goal from the penalty corner and Julian Alvarez scored twice and helped Argentina outplay Croatia 3-0 on Tuesday. They reached their second World Cup final in eight years.
At the Lusail Stadium, two-time world champions produced their best performance of the tournament so far and sealed the final spot. Lionel Messi scored a goal from the penalty spot with a booming kick to provide Argentina a 1-0 lead against Croatia in the first semi-final of the FIFA World Cup. After scoring that goal, he broke the record of Gabriel Batistuta and became the highest goalscorer for his country in the history of the tournament. He has scored five goals in the 2022 edition.
Croatia started the proceedings aggressively and they even got the corner in the 16th minute of the game where Dejan Lovren’s difficult header on the left was too high with the help of Josip Juranovic's cross.
In the 25th minute, Lionel Scaloni’s men started with their first aggressive move when Enzo Fernandez smashed a right-footed shot but it was saved in the right corner that came from the assist of Alexis Mac Allister. Croatian defenders failed to deliver as they could not stop Argentina’s strikers and paid the price. Argentina ended the game with a 3-0 lead and made its way to the final of the FIFA World Cup 2022. With this victory, they will probably be playing against either France or Morocco who will lock horns in the second semi-final. After losing the match, Croatia concluded its World Cup run but then they will be playing against the loser of the second semi-final in the third-place match.