Messi, Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 to reach World Cup final
Lusail, The Gulf Observer: Lionel Messi bent over, clutched his left hamstring and appeared to grimace, immediately spreading panic through the soccer world but especially among all Argentines.
Was their superstar — their idol — injured? Was he going to have to come off early in the World Cup semifinals?
No such luck for Croatia.
Before long, Messi was producing perhaps the best performance of his record-tying 25 appearances at the World Cup, leading Argentina to a 3-0 victory over Croatia on Tuesday that set up a meeting with either France or Morocco in Sunday’s final.
Messi is back in soccer’s biggest match on his mission to win the game’s greatest prize for the first time. At 35, he could hardly be playing any better.
Messi converted a penalty and played a part in the other two goals by Julián Álvarez — one with an outrageous piece of skill that brought roars of approval from Argentina’s huge following — to turn an initially tense occasion into a procession.
“A lot is going through my head — it’s very emotional seeing all of this,” Messi said in a post-match interview on the field as he looked up at Argentina’s celebrating, scarf-waving supporters. “To see the fans — ‘the family’ — during the whole tournament was so incredible. We’re going to the final, which is what we wanted.”
It will be Messi’s second World Cup final — Argentina lost the other one to Germany in 2014 — in what might be his last appearance at the tournament.
The stage is set for a player widely regarded as one of the game’s best, if not the absolute best, to go out on the ultimate high.
He is thrilling his legion of fans along the way.
His swivel and driving run to set up the third goal for Álvarez in the 69th minute left Josko Gvardiol — one of the best defenders at the World Cup — grasping at thin air and epitomized Messi’s confidence and swagger.
He is embracing the responsibility of leading Argentina to its third World Cup title, scoring in five of his six games in Qatar.
He even had a penalty saved in the one game in which he didn’t score.
“I am honored to train him and see him play,” said Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, who was in tears in the post-match celebrations. “Every time you see him play, it’s a huge source of motivation for his teammates, fans and the whole world.”
MESSI RECORDS
Messi became Argentina’s record scorer at World Cups with his third penalty of the tournament taking him to 11 goals in total — one more than Gabriel Batistuta. He also tied the record for most appearances at the World Cup by playing for the 25th time, the same number as Lothar Matthäus of Germany.
