Argentina will play their sixth FIFA World Cup final game thanks to a huge performance from the team managed by Lionel Scaloni, but specially from Lionel Messi and youngster Julian Alvarez, who delivered three goals between them to seal their spot in the final game of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
After a disappointing start with a 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia, the team managed by Lionel Scaloni were questioned and heavily critized, however, the Albiceleste has given huge performances since then, with their star Messi as the leader with great playmaking skills and crucial goals scored.
As one of the last obstacles to the final game, Croatia were thought to be a more aggresive opponent. However, Argentina managed to stay ahead through the entire game, and got an easy 3-0 win over the 2018 Runners-up, and get the upset to Luka Modric's side.
Who was the man of the match of Argentina vs Croatia semifinals game?
As it happened in all the matches of the Argentine national team during this 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Lionel Messi was awarded with the Man of the Match award. In the 3-0 win over Croatia, Messi made one penalty goal, after the foul to Julian Alvarez, and in the second half, he made the assist for Alvarez to score the third goal of the match.
Through the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Messi has scored 5 goals in six games, to tie with Kylian Mbappe for the goalscorer of the tournament, as well as the player with most assists through the tournament. He is tied with Bruno Fernandez, Antoine Griezmann, and Harry Kane, all of them with 3 assists.
Also, Messi has clinched a new milestone with the Argentine national team. Messi is the Argentina's all-time top scorer in a World Cup tournament. After his penalty goal in this match, he passed up Gabriel Batistuta, who scored 10 goals, and now Messi sits alone with 11 goals scored in the first place.
