Argentina reached the final after defeating Croatia in the first semi-final at the Lusail stadium.It was a match that saw another of Messi's best performances in the tournament.
Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 with a brace from young talent Julian Alvarez and a goal from Captain Leo Messi.Argentina will play the final against the winners of today's France Morocco match.
Scorers
Argentina: Lionel Messi 34' (p),
Julian Alvarez 39', 69'.
Match summary
Croatia was in possession of the ball from the beginning of the match.Argentina played defensively and gave importance to counter attack.In the 25th minute, Enzo Fernandez's long ranger hit the Croatian goalkeeper Livakovic.
The first goal of the match was in the 32nd minute.The referee awarded a penalty for a foul by Croatian goalkeeper livakovic when Alvarez tries to take a through ball from the box.The keeper could not block Messi's shot to the top right corner.
With this goal, Messi overtook Batistuta to become the most goalscorer for Argentina in the World Cup. Messi has 11 goals in the World Cup.
After conceding the goal, the intensity of Croatia's attacking decreased.Julian Alvarez scored the second goal for Argentina in the 39th minute before Croatia got back into the game.
The player advanced alone with the ball from a counter attack and beat the Croatian defenders and the goalkeeper to make it 2-0.The match ended with a two goal lead in the first half.
Croatia picked up the tempo in the second half, but Argentina's defense held firm to not concede a goal.Croatia had a chance to fight back in the 62nd minute, but Dejan Lone's header failed to convert.
Argentina scored a third goal in the 70th minute to seal the final. Messi advanced with the ball on the right wing and Alvarez converted a pass from Leo that fooled the Croatian defender Guardiola.
Argentina will play the final at Lusail Stadium on 18th December against the winners of today's France Morocco match.
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