Lionel Messi starred as he scored one goal, created another and ran the show for a dominant Argentina as they swept aside Croatia 3-0 at Lusail Stadium to book their place in the World Cup final in Qatar.
Messi converted a first-half penalty and had a hand in the other two goals by Julian Alvarez, meaning he will get another crack at winning that elusive World Cup crown, as he set up a meeting with either defending champions France or underdogs Morocco in Sunday’s title match.
Croatia – led by captain and star player Luka Modric playing in possibly his last World Cup match – barely laid a glove on a disciplined, well-drilled Argentina side who may not have always controlled the game but seized their moments when they came and gave their talisman a chance to match his hero Diego Maradona and lift the Jules Rimet trophy.
Messi put them ahead with a 34th-minute penalty after goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic tripped Alvarez and the Manchester City forward then charged 50 metres, somehow keeping possession via two rebounds as defenders tried to tackle him, to poke in the second five minutes later. The little maestro later showed mesmerising control to drive to the byline and pull the ball back for Alvarez to tuck in the third after 69 minutes and wrap up victory.
Relive all the action with our live blog below:
