Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez fired Argentina to a place in the World Cup final with a dominant 3-0 semifinal win over Croatia at Lusail Stadium.
Croatia, aiming to reach back-to-back finals after their 2018 heroics, were the better side during a cagey opening half-hour but goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic brought down Alvarez as the Manchester City striker lifted the ball over him.
Livakovic was his country’s hero in the shootout wins over Japan and Brazil but he was left with no chance as Messi thumped his penalty into the top-right corner to join Kylian Mbappe at the top of the Golden Boot leading scorer race.
Alvarez then tenaciously bundled his way through a scattered Croatia backline on the counter-attack to double the lead, and the two goalscorers combined delightfully in the 69th minute — Messi tormenting Josko Gvardiol with a winding dribble before teeing up Alvarez for his fourth of the tournament.
