The inspiring Lionel Messi leads Argentina past Croatia to the World Cup Final | World Cup 2022

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For Lionel Messi, crowning glory seems to be. As Argentina’s gaze focused on their third World Cup victory, it was impossible to ignore their captain. It shouldn’t just be about him. There were other stars with blue and white stripes, most notably Julian Alvarez. But when Messi plays like this and with the power of the narrative around him, he can definitely feel that way.

Messi was overwhelming and irresistible. He powered Argentina up with a superbly converted penalty – his fifth goal of the tournament, which put him level with France’s Kylian Mbappe in the race for the Golden Boot – and made Alvarez’s second killer start.

But Messi made sure to provide a lasting memory, saving his stunning moment midway through the second half to end any notion of a Croatia comeback. Help came from above.

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He picked up the ball flowing down the right flank and sprinted past Jusko Guardiol, an acceleration that unsettles the 35-year-old. Slow down and go again but Gvardiol, one of the best defenders in the tournament, will recover. Messi made sure of this, and returned to his opponent. He needed to find another way.

And so he dropped his right shoulder and spun left, touching the ball around Gvardiol with his left boot, showing it to him, almost teasing him, but not letting him get close enough to it. Messi moved to and along the sideline before dropping back to Alvarez, who did the rest. Guardiol was powerless.

There are a few numbers that are relevant as it seems to be tracking every breath of Messi. It was his record-equalling 25th World Cup appearance and his 11th goal in the competition was an Argentine record. His assists have given him eight World Cup finals – the same as Diego Maradona. But what Maradona did in the 1986 tournament is what Messi wants to emulate.

Argentina celebrates at the end of a game they dominated to reach their sixth World Cup final. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Messi has pretty much done it all. Eleven league titles. Four Champions Leagues. Copa America. Seven golden balls. He has now scored 791 career goals, 96 of which are for Argentina. The World Cup, though, is a CV gap that burns. Could it be his time finally?

Croatia lived on the edge of the abyss, close to exiting the group stage; Fighting back to beat Japan and Brazil on penalties in the knockout stages. The 2018 finalists have routinely gone to overtime and beyond; They never know when they are getting hit. This country of 3.9 million people has defied the odds time and time again. . . But not here.

It was Argentina’s sixth World Cup semi-final match and they have yet to lose. Once Alvarez scored his first goal, it looked like too much of a request for Croatia, and the symbol of broken resistance came in the 81st minute when Zlatko Dalic replaced talisman Luka Modric. It wasn’t his night.

Lionel Scaloni could manage the rave Argentine fans behind a goal after full time and the coach was able to get his tactics right. He went with a tight but flexible 4-4-2, as defenders were encouraged to push high and wide. It provided a platform for Messi to run around, and his teammates filled in the gaps around him, as well as to field runners at the back, especially Alvarez. Croatia was strangled, its back suspended.

It was an uncharacteristically loose touch from Modric that Argentina seized to blow up the competition, sending Enzo Fernandez Alvarez wide past Dejan Lovren. It was amazing to see how much space Alvarez had and although he couldn’t finish the ball, Lovren came back to clear the ball but was stopped by goalkeeper Dominik Levakovic, who made no attempt to play the ball. Messi will not miss his site.

Julián Álvarez celebrates his second and third goals for Argentina after being headed up by the magical Lionel Messi. Photo: Lars Baron/Getty Images

Croatia had wanted a corner kick from their earlier move when Ivan Perisic’s shot was deflected off an Argentine side. They were furious when the punishment was given. Mario Mandzukic, assistant coach, received a red card.

The 1-0 deficit did not tend to be a problem for Croatia. In each of their previous World Cup knockout matches and the last time they conceded first. They would win on every occasion – except for the final against France. But 2-0 was more problematic.

What an awful goal it was for Croatia to concede, caught in another quick pass after Argentina converted a corner kick. Messi got there before Marcelo Brozovic, and when Alvarez had the ball just before the halfway mark, he simply collapsed.

Messi

The snare runs from Rodrigo de Paul and assists Nahuel Molina, and when Alvarez drops his shoulder on the edge of the area, he gets a break from Josip Juranović. Borna Sosa was unable to set his feet, missed an attempted clearance and Alvarez enjoyed the conversion from close range.

Messi radiates danger, perpetually alive for the killer pass. At 2-0 he really started to enjoy himself, amazing with his touch and brutal sharpness in the turns. Argentina nearly scored again before half-time, Alexis McAllister extending Levaković’s free-kick from a corner kick. The rebound almost went into Joranović’s net. McAllister would close in on fourth place for Argentina late on.

Dalic was broken at the start of the second half, introducing Mislav Orsic on the left and Bruno Petkovic as a second striker, and moved to 4-4-2. But Croatia created few clear notes and were vulnerable to being laid off. Messi almost went in when he exchanged passes with Fernandez. The scene was set for his final splash of magic.

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