Argentina vs Croatia game
Lionel Messi’s dream of leading Argentina into World Cup glory will remain in the air until the end of Qatar 2022. La Albiceleste defeated a tired-looking Croatia in a 3-0 win in the semifinal match on Tuesday.
Two goals in the first half, the first one a Messi penalty and the other an individual effort by Julian Alvarez, put Argentina in a dominant position in the second half and a position Croatia was never able to recover from.
Alvarez scored the winning goal by scoring Argentina’s third goal in the second period following an excellent Messi assist. The South American team and its captain of 35 years, Alvarez, with an opportunity to finally get rid of the ghosts of their 2014 final loss and also win the only World Cup title since 1986.
Messi played for a good portion of the game, aching his left hamstring. However, you wouldn’t think the player was suffering from any pain due to the way his turn and twisted run enthralled Josko Gvardiol, who is one of the tournament’s top defenders, in order to score the third goal for Argentina.
Messi’s superhuman talents are likely to decrease as he moves into the final stages of his career. However, the young magician can provide moments of pure genius when his nation needs him the most.
He scored a goal in the group stages to defeat Mexico at the time of the group stage as well as his help in the quarterfinals against the Netherlands in the semifinals, and his performance overall in the semifinal on Tuesday has provided more unforgettable moments for a nation comprising 45 million people who believe him to be just a few steps from being a god.
Up to 40000 Argentina fans are believed to have visited Qatar to attend the World Cup. According to the Argentine Embassy in Qatar, It sounded like they were all in Lusail Stadium. Lusail Stadium on Tuesday night.
As the clock ticked into the final minutes of injury time, and the victory was in doubt The Argentina team and the coaching staff began to join in the chants and songs the spectators were shouting.
Following the whistle’s final blow, the players of Argentina sat in front of the enormous wall of white and blue jerseys and watched the admiration of their supporters.
It’s hard to believe they are the team that was defeated the game 2-1 against Saudi Arabia just three weeks ago in their first group stage game – an effort that was so boring and lacking any zing that some were left thinking that Argentina could even get from the pool.
This time, against either France or Morocco, Messi will have one final shot at winning the trophy he desires the most.
A meeting with destiny
The likes of Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Croatia’s Luka Modric, both captains, have steered their teams to defeat in the World Cup finals, and this could be the final chance for them to both get their hands on the sport’s most coveted award.
There was no mention of Croatia among the favorite teams for the tournament before Qatar 2022. However, Croatia shocked the world by making it to the final. They did it again in the first round of Qatar by eliminating the pre-tournament favorite Brazil by penalty in a show of determination and grit.
Modric, the Croatian star player and a legend in the tiny Balkan nation, has been battle-tested in the biggest games and, along with Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic, has been one of the most arguably successful midfielders in Qatar.
Argentina, similarly, has also improved as the tournament has gone on – though it was hardly able to get any worse after that stunning defeat to Saudi Arabia.
This team that appears to believe that the script was written for Messi’s final dance, which will culminate with glory on Sunday, is hardly recognizable from the team that went to the field on the day of the match.
Although Croatia began the game marginally superior to the other teams, the players played as many hours as they could in Qatar. They won against Japan and Brazil with penalties after two energy-sapping periods of extra time.
Their tired legs appeared to show in the early stages of Lusail Stadium. Lusail Stadium and even one error at this stage could be costly.
It was the case in Croatia because, as it turned out, Modric was the only player to give the ball away in midfield. Guardiola did not manage to catch Alvarez and left Dominik Livakovic, who twice took part in Croatia’s shootout player in Qatar and exposed one-on-one with Alvarez, the Manchester City forward.
Alvarez played the ball over Livakovic’s leg, which fell on the striker, and Messi was not a fool in scoring the penalty, slamming it to the upper corner.
This is Messi’s eleventh World Cup goal, taking him over Gabriel Batistuta as Argentina’s all-time top goalscorer at the World Cup finals.
The game quickly appeared like it was moving off of Croatia as Alvarez scored a 2-0 win just five minutes later.
Borna Sosa’s poor cross into the box sparked an Argentina counterattack, with Alvarez running three-quarters of the length of the pitch and, after two fortuitous ricochets in the box, buried the ball past Livakovic.
A stunning emergency save from Livakovic kept the score from getting more dire for Croatia just before half-time. However, it will require something extraordinary, even for a side that is accustomed to creating soccer-related miracles, to rebound from this loss.
But Croatia did not do much forward during the second half and was a victim of a fatigued attack and tough Argentine defense, and the lack in the game was only evident till the 70th minute.
Messi took the ball and sprinted Gvardiol through the air before finding Alvarez in the box, sending the Argentina supporters to Lusail Stadium. Lusail Stadium into raptures.
Many regarded Argentina as less than other World Cup contenders and weren’t expected to be in the final game in Qatar However, and a determined and steadfast Messi has made sure that it will.
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