By 
Argentina defeated Croatia 3-0 on Tuesday to advance to the final, where they will play either the defending champions France or Morocco.
Lionel Messi earned one last chance at World Cup glory thanks to his penalty and two goals from Julian Alvarez.
It was 22-year-old Alvarez who stole the show, earning the penalty before opening his own account at the end of a scintillating 50-meter run.
While all eyes were on Argentina captain Messi and his fifth attempt to win the one major trophy eluding him, Alvarez stole the show.
After goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic fouled Alvarez in the 34th minute, Messi calmly converted the penalty kick to give his nation its all-time leading scorer at the World Cup with 11 goals.
Five minutes later, Alvarez took matters into his own hands by making a solo effort to double their lead.
Argentina’s sixth appearance in the World Cup final was ensured by the pair’s flawless partnership in the 69th minute, when Alvarez tapped in his second goal following an enthralling Messi drive to the byline and cut-back.
“Throughout the World Cup it has been incredible what we have lived through and we are going to play the last game which is what we wanted,” the 35-year-old Messi said.
“I’ve been enjoying this for a long time, since we arrived at this World Cup. We asked people to trust us because we know who we are. It’s crazy, we did it … we’re going to play another final. Once again, Argentina are in a World Cup final.”
They will play either France, the defending World Cup champions, or Morocco, the first Arab nation to advance to the World Cup semifinals, on Sunday.
Comments