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Lionel Messi, Argentina Return to World Cup Final With 3–0 Win Over Croatia

Lionel Messi recorded a goal and assist while Julián Alvarez scored twice to lead Argentina over Croatia in the World Cup semifinals.

Andrew Gastelum

Lionel Messi will get one more shot at winning the World Cup after putting on a masterclass in Argentina’s 3–0 win over Croatia in the semifinals Tuesday.

With his 25th World Cup appearance, Messi drew level with Germany’s Lothar Matthäus for the most games played in the men’s tournament. Then, he performed like the superstar that he is, recording a goal and assist and wowing the largely Argentine crowd with his sublime vision and serpentine runs. 

Along with Messi’s brilliance, Julián Álvarez propelled La Albiceleste by drawing the penalty that led to Messi’s goal from the spot, which saw Messi draw level with Kylian Mbappé atop the Golden Boot race with five goals, while the 22-year-old Man City product added two goals himself.

The easy win comes after Argentina needed a dramatic penalty-kick shootout against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals after blowing a 2–0 lead in the last 20 minutes of regular time. Now, Argentina will go on to face the winner of tomorrow’s semifinal between France and Morocco in Sunday’s final, where Messi will try for redemption after losing the 2014 final in extra time to Germany.

At the beginning of the match, both sides were cautious with neither even registering a shot in the first 15 minutes. In the 16th minute, Croatia earned a corner kick, but the match’s first chance was sent well over the bar by Dejan Lovren. 

Argentina started to pick up the pace after the 20-minute mark. Nicolás Tagliafico sent a dangerous cross into the box that went untouched in the 24th minute, while a minute later, Enzo Fernández sent a shot that needed to be saved by Dominik Livaković. 

In the 32nd minute, Álvarez was sent through on goal with a ball over the top of the Croatia defense. With just the keeper to beat, Álvarez pushed the ball around Livaković before he was taken out inside the box, drawing a penalty. Messi then stepped to the spot and struck a perfect penalty into the top corner for the lead. 

La Albiceleste didn’t wait long to double their lead with Álvarez leading the charge once again in the 39th minute. After a botched set piece from Croatia, Argentina rushed down the field on a brisk counterattack. Álvarez dribbled toward goal from near midfield and lost control of the ball, but Croatia’s failed clearances fell right back to the Man City forward who lashed the chance into the back of the net for the 2–0 lead.

Argentina nearly managed a third just three minutes later off a corner when Alexis Mac Allister sent a header toward goal, forcing Livaković into a great save to keep Croatia’s deficit at two.

Livaković came up big once again in the 58th minute to deny Messi a second goal as the keeper made himself big as the PSG superstar had a clear chance right in front of goal. 

In the 69th minute, Messi went on a hypnotizing run down the right wing, swerving around the touchline and then cutting back against the endline with incredible skill. Under intense pressure from the defender marking him, Messi kept his balance and cut the ball into the center of the area where Álvarez converted the tap-in to extend Argentina’s lead to 3–0. 

Croatia waited until after the 70th minute to record its first shot on target, but Ivan Perišić’s free kick from distance was hardly enough to challenge Martínez.

Mac Allister was close to creating a lasting World Cup memory with volleyed shot that nearly fell on target after Paulo Dybala scooped a pass over the Croatian defense in the 83rd minute.

After defeating Brazil in the quarterfinals, the semifinal loss for Croatia ended another serious run at the World Cup, the second straight tournament where it made the semifinals after finishing runner-up in 2018. Meanwhile, Saturday’s third-place match will likely spell the final World Cup game for national legend Luka Modrić.

Here were the lineups for both sides:

Full World Cup squads

Croatia

GOALKEEPERS: Ivo Grbić (Atlético Madrid), Ivica Ivušic (Osijek), Dominik Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb)

DEFENDERS: Borna Barišić (Rangers), Martin Erlić (Sassuolo), Joško Gvardiol (RB Leipzig), Josip Juranović (Celtic), Dejan Lovren (Zenit Saint Petersburg), Borna Sosa (Stuttgart), Josip Staničić (Bayern Munich), Josip Šutalo (Dinamo Zagreb), Domagoj Vida (AEK Athens)

MIDFIELDERS: Marcelo Brozović (Inter Milan), Kristijan Jakić (Eintracht Frankfurt), Mateo Kovačić (Chelsea), Lovro Majer (Rennes), Luka Modrić (Real Madrid), Mario Pašalić (Atalanta), Luka Sušić (Salzburg), Nikola Vlašić (Torino)

FORWARDS: Ante Budimir (Osasuna), Andrej Kramarić (Hoffenheim), Marko Livaja (Hajduk Split), Mislav Oršić (Dinamo Zagreb), Ivan Perišić (Tottenham), Bruno Petković (Dinamo Zagreb)

COACH: Zlatko Dalić

Argentina

GOALKEEPERS: Franco Armani (River Plate), Emi Martínez (Aston Villa), Gerónimo Rulli (Villarreal)

DEFENDERS: Marcos Acuña (Sevilla), Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Lisandro Martínez (Manchester United), Nahuel Molina (Atlético Madrid), Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica), Germán Pezzella (Real Betis), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Nicolás Tagliafico (Lyon)

MIDFIELDERS: Rodrigo De Paul (Atlético Madrid), Enzo Fernández (Benfica), Alejandro Gómez (Sevilla), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Leandro Paredes (Juventus), Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis)

FORWARDS: Thiago Almada (Atlanta United), Julián Álvarez (Manchester City), Ángel Correa (Atlético Madrid), Paulo Dybala (Roma), Ángel Di María (Juventus), Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan), Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)

COACH: Lionel Scaloni

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Andrew Gastelum
ANDREW GASTELUM

Andrew Gastelum is a programming editor and writer at Sports Illustrated who specializes in soccer, the Olympics and international sports. He joined the SI staff in March 2021 and previously contributed to Howler Magazine and NBC Sports. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame alum and is currently based in Italy.

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