MAGIC MESSI INSPIRES ARGENTINA TO WORLD CUP FINAL

Lionel Messi was among the goals as Argentina saw off a brave Croatia 3-0 to reach the World Cup final. The imperious little magician was an instrumental figure for his nation once again with one of the best individual performances in World Cup history and set «La Albiceleste» on the front foot with a 34th minute penalty after Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic brought down Manchester City ace Julian Alvarez. Messi converted the penalty and then assisted Alvarez either side of half time to seal the victory for Argentina and set up a tantalising final with France or Morocco on Sunday in Lusail.



That shocking loss to Saudi Arabia in Argentina's opening game must seem like a lifetime ago to those fans who will be celebrating long into the night. It's no secret that the Argentines have been the best supported nation at the tournament and have brought an unmatched electricity and energy to the stadiums and acting as a 12th man for their beloved heroes in the sky blue and white stripes. Those loyal subjects were repaid in full by a Messi inspired masterclass that sees Argentina into their 6th World Cup final after reaching the same point in 2014, eventually losing to Germany.

With his heroic display, Messi becomes the first player to both score and assist in four separate World Cup matches and overtakes Gabriel Batistuta to become Argentina's top scorer in World Cups with 11. Strike partner Julian Alvarez impressed once again and has now netted in 6 of his 8 starts for his country, 3 of those goals coming in this tournament.


Argentina started the game on the back foot as Croatia bossed proceedings, knocking the ball around nicely and keeping possession for the majority of the first half, as Messi cut a rather forlorn looking figure trudging around the pitch waiting for his team-mates to spring into action. The action came in the form of a penalty for Argentina as Alvarez was brought down by Livakovic after pushing the ball past the hapless Croatian goalkeeper. Messi duly despatched the ball into the top-left corner of the net to send the Argentine fans into raptures in the stands. The goal against the run of play seemed to shake the Croatian players and some comical defending led Alvarez to be one-on-one with Livakovic and stick the ball past him with top draw composure to make it 2-0 nil in a matter of minutes.

The Croatians went in at half time completely deflated and things didn't get much better for them in the second half as Messi decided to roll back the years with a moment of magic that we somewhat nonchalantly have come to expect from the little genius. The Paris Saint-Germain man is on a mission to ensure he can win the only trophy that has eluded him in his glittering career and he rolled back the years against Gvardiol down the right flank as he turned the helpless young defender inside out with a mesmerising run, before cutting it back to Alvarez with precision from the byline who made no mistake with the finish and buried the ball from just outside the six-yard box to become the youngest player to score twice in a World Cup semi-final since Pele in 1958.

The Croatians will of course be disappointed with the defeat, nobody more so than captain and talisman Luka Modric, but they can hold their heads high and reflect back on another fantastic run and achievement at a World Cup. Argentina however will be watching tomorrow's game between France and Morocco to see who they'll face in their bid to lift the trophy for the first time since 1986. Then it was Maradona, now, will it be Messi?