By scoring for Argentina in a 3-0 victory over Croatia at the Lusail Iconic Stadium to advance to the final, Lionel Messi earned himself one final chance to win the World Cup. Julian Alvarez also scored for Argentina.
On Sunday, they’ll take on either France or Morocco, who are participating in Wednesday’s semifinal.
After Man City forward Alvarez controversially received a penalty for colliding with Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, Messi scored the game’s first goal from the penalty spot (34) against the flow of play.
After conceding the first goal, Croatia crumbled, and five minutes later, Argentina scored another thanks to some laughable defending as Alvarez doubled their advantage (39), carrying the ball out of his own half.
In order to ensure that the game was beyond doubt, Messi took matters into his own hands. He performed a moment of magic down the right to defeat Josko Gvardiol before putting the ball on the table for Alvarez to score Argentina’s third goal.
Argentina hasn’t won the World Cup since Diego Maradona led his country to victory in Mexico in 1986, when they last made it to the final in Brazil in 2014 and lost to Germany.