Argentina 3: 0 Croatia
Both are ‘LM-10’. But today one has to say goodbye. Messi-Alvarez This is the semi-final of the World Cup! Croatia’s ‘LM-10’ Luka Modric tried it all. But the night at Lucille’s iconic stadium wasn’t really his team’s. To be more specific, Argentina’s ‘LM-10’ Lionel Messi didn’t let Modric’s Croatia win on the night. Messi-Alvarez .
He has already announced that this is his last World Cup. And in the last World Cup, Messi made it clear that he has no intention of withdrawing from the semi-finals.
Messi scored himself from the penalty, Julian Alvarez gave another. Alvarez did not go short. He scored an almost unbelievable goal with a solo effort before scoring the second from Messi’s pass.
Argentina won the match 3-0 with 2 goals from Alvarez and 1 goal from Messi. After 2014, it reached the World Cup final again. Last year’s finalists Croatia raced to the last four, while Modric’s World Cup chapter came to an end.
The first half hour is actually in Croatia’s game. In other words, he gave a great pass on the first touch, he also kept possession of the ball. But the offensive third didn’t go far. At that time, Argentina was more busy ruining Croatia’s game. Messi-Alvarez They couldn’t hold their own very well. Croatia gets a corner in the 16th minute. But the defenders of Argentina did not let the danger happen.
Enzo Fernandez took a shot from outside the box in the 24th minute. But Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic had no trouble stopping him. Messi-Alvarez Two minutes later Mateo Kovacic made a great pass from Messi. Taliafico fouled Kramaric while running with the ball and awarded the free-kick. However, Croatia could not use Modric’s easy free-kick.
In the 31st minute, Ivan Perisic entered Argentina’s box from the left, avoiding the eyes of Nahuel Molina. But his shot hit Rodrigo De Paul and went wide. However, Croatia did not get a corner because the referee looked away.
Then the match freezes. Enzo Fernandez made a long pass to Julian Alvarez after receiving the ball from Otamendi in defence. Croatian goalkeeper Livakovic stepped up to stop Alvarez, who outpaced the Croatian defense and blocked with his body. The referee gave him a yellow card and a penalty.
Captain Lionel Messi put Argentina ahead from the spot kick. About 34 minutes left in the match. It was Messi’s fifth goal of the World Cup, taking the Argentine forward’s tally to 11 in the World Cup. Messi is now Argentina’s top scorer at the World Cup, surpassing the legendary Batistuta.
But the best moment of the match was yet to come. Julian Alvarez did not think the end of the penalty! Five minutes later, when Messi appealed for a free-kick following a foul in midfield, the referee saw the ball possibly at Alvarez’s feet and allowed play to continue. Alvarez dribbled past three Croatian players. Messi-Alvarez On the other hand, Rodrigo de Paul and Molina ran in and confused the Croatian defence.
Alvarez cut past Croatian defender Borna Sosa in the D-box, then dribbled past Livakovic and into the net. Perhaps not as much as Maradona’s against England in the 1986 World Cup, but Alvarez’s goal may have been the visitors’ first goal.
Half of the match is over. What was left, the Messi-Alvarez duo finished after the break. That goal in the 69th minute was pure Messi-magic.
The Croats shuffled the defense down the right before Josko Guardiol cut the ball close to the boundary. Cut Alvarez from there. Alvarez is not one to skip this goal. If Alvarez’s earlier goal was one of the best goals of the tournament, Messi’s assist is probably the best goal of the tournament.
Can Croatia return to this match?
