Leo Messi and Argentina in the World Cup final!

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Lionel Messi's Argentina qualified for the final of the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup by beating Croatia 3-0 in the semi-final on Tuesday 13 December 2022.

In Lusail, the scene of the final that will take place this Sunday 18 December, Leo Messi's Argentina beat Croatia 3-0, thus qualifying for the 5th World Cup final in their history (2 wins in 1978 and 1986, 2 defeats in 1990 and 2014).ย 

It didn't take long for the Argentine captain and Paris Saint-Germain forward to get on track. The Albiceleste won a penalty shortly after the half-hour mark for a foul on Alvarez by the Croatian goalkeeper, and Lionel Messi converted it to give Argentina the lead and the chance to go through to the final (1-0, 34'). Messi became the highest scorer in the history of his team in the World Cup, with 11 goals, overtaking the country's legend Gabriel Batistuta.

It was a new record for the Argentinian genius, who also became the joint holder of the record for the number of matches played in a World Cup, tied for the time being with Lothar Matthaus (25).ย 

But Lionel Scaloni's players did not stop there, and a few minutes after the opening goal, Julian Alvarez slalomed through the opposing defence to double the lead and send his team on their way to the final (2-0, 39').

The Croatians tried to react in the second half, but were unable to break Messi and his team-mates, who even scored a third goal, once again by Alvarez, who was brilliantly set up by Leo Messi, who at the same time became the first player to be involved in 20 World Cup goals, with 11 goals and 9 assists (3-0, 69')!

Argentina therefore qualified for the final, and will meet their next opponents, Kylian Mbappรฉ's France or Achraf Hakimi's Morocco, who will face each other on 14 December, in the most eagerly awaited match in world football.

ARGENTINA - CROATIA: 3-0 (2-0)
Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022 - Semi-final
Lusail Iconic Stadium (Lusail)
Goals: Messi (p 34') and Alvarez (39', 69').
ARGENTINA: E. Martinez, Otamendi, Tagliafico, Molina (Foyth, 86'), Romero, Paredes (Li. Martinez, 62'), De Paul (Palacios (74'), Mac Allister (A. Correa, 86'), Fernandez, Messi, Alvarez (Dybala, 74'). Coach: L. Scaloni.
CROATIA: Livakovic, Lovren, Sosa (Orsic, 46'), Juranovic, Gvardiol, Modric (Majer, 81'), Perisic, Brozovic (Petkovic, 50'), Kovacic, Pasalic (Vlasic, 46'), Kramaric (Livaja, 72'). Coach: Z. Dalic.