Messi’s magic at the World Cup doubles up Argentina at final

Argentina advanced to the World Cup final with a commanding 3-0 semifinal victory over Croatia thanks to Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez.

A cagey first half-hour saw Croatia, looking to repeat their exploits from 2018, be the superior team, but Dominik Livakovic hauled down Alvarez as the Manchester City striker hoisted the ball over him.

Livakovic was the hero for his nation in the shootout victories over Brazil and Japan, but he had little chance when Messi slammed his penalty into the top right corner to tie Kylian Mbappe for first place in the Golden Boot race.

The two goal scorers combined delightfully in the 69th minute when Messi tormented Josko Gvardiol with a mesmerizing dribble before setting up Alvarez for his fourth of the tournament. Alvarez then tenaciously bundled his way through a disorganized Croatia defense on the counter-attack to double the lead.

With five goals, Messi has surpassed Gabriel Batistuta to become Argentina’s all-time best World Cup scorer. He will then have one final opportunity to defeat fellow legend Diego Maradona and hoist the renowned gold trophy.