Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 in a FIFA World Cup semifinal Tuesday in Lusail, Qatar, moving to within one win of its first world championship since 1986.
The South American power beat the 2018 runner-up to advance to its sixth final, in which it will face either France or Morocco on Sunday.
A victory in the final would be the crowning achievement for star Lionel Messi, who is probably playing in his final World Cup.
Messi’s penalty kick late in the first half opened the scoring against Croatia, which was overmatched Tuesday. Continue reading for highlights from the game.
Lionel Messi got Argentina started with an unstoppable first-half penalty kick. Julián Álvarez, just 6 years old when Messi played in his first World Cup game, then made sure his iconic countryman would be playing for the World Cup title that would cap his legendary career.
Messi’s initial goal and the one that followed five first-half minutes later from Álvarez — on a breathtaking run that spanned three-quarters of the pitch — were more than enough for Argentina in its 3-0 win over overwhelmed Croatia in Tuesday’s World Cup semifinal in Lusail, Qatar. Argentina advanced to the World Cup final for the second time in eight years and will play either France or Morocco on Sunday.
For good measure, Messi and his younger teammate combined on the third goal, with the elder player twisting a Croatian defender into knots before finding the 22-year-old Álvarez in good position for Argentina’s third goal in the 69th minute.
Playing in the World Cup semifinals for a second straight tournament after successive penalty-kick victories, Croatia fell flat, particularly on defense. Messi’s penalty kick came about after Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic took down a charging Álvarez in the penalty area. On the goal that followed minutes later, Croatia’s defenders simply didn’t seem to know what to do as Álvarez charged up the field and beat a helpless Livakovic for a 2-0 lead.
