Reuters :
Messi wiggled past two defenders in a move of pure magic and then passed the ball to Alvarez, who scored his second goal of the match to make it 3-0 for Argentina and Argentina stormed into the final of the FIFA World Cup 2022. The do-or-die semi-final match held at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail of Qatar on Tuesday.
Lionel Messi scored from the spot before Julian Alvarez grabbed another with a fantastic solo run to give Argentina a 2-0 lead over Croatia at halftime in the first World Cup semi-final.
Argentina won the penalty in the 32nd minute when goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic tried to deny Alvarez, who was through on goal, bringing down the Manchester City forward and getting booked in the process.
Messi stepped up and made no mistake, firing the spot kick into the top corner for his 11th goal in World Cups, the most by any Argentina player in the tournament’s history.
Five minutes later, Alvarez picked up the ball near the half line from a Messi pass and went on a magical run through the Croatian defence, going past three defenders and enjoying some lucky rebounds before stabbing the ball past Livakovic for 2-0.
Argentina made two changes in the starting eleven that won on penalties against the Netherlands for the semi-final against Croatia, who named an unchanged line-up.
Nicolas Tagliafico started as left full-back in place of suspended Marcos Acuna while Leandro Paredes came into midfield with defender Lisandro Martinez on the bench.
Croatia started with the same team that beat Brazil, also on penalties, in the quarter-finals.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi is playing in his 25th World Cup match to level with German great Lothar Matthaeus as the joint record holder for most appearances in the tournament.
