Arg vs croatia

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. Argentina vs Croatia final score 1H 2H Final Argentina 2 1 3 Croatia 0 0 0 Goals: ARG — Lionel Messi (34 mins, pen) ARG — Julian Alvarez (39 mins) ARG — Julian Alvarez (69 mins) MORE: Messi himself has five and is now Argentina's There was another all-time great plotting another route towards glory on the field on Tuesday and Dejan Lovren absent-mindedly played Alvarez onside and Livakovic took him out as he prodded towards goal. Penalties have not always been Messi's strongest suit, but he found a precision strike to meet the moment and net his 11th overall World Cup go...

All it took was a five-minute stretch late in the first half for Argentina to score a quickfire double to book their place in the World Cup final, defeating Croatia 3-0 in the semifinals on Tuesday. Despite seemingly having hamstring issues during the first half of the match, Lionel Messi was unstoppable, scoring from the spot before Julian Alvarez scored twice in the lopsided victory. Messi's penalty came from a rare mistake from Dominik Lovankovic who clattered into Alvarez in the box. Croatia made changes to try counter at halftime but Messi then set up Alvarez in the 69th to put the game firmly out of reach. After squandering a 2-0 lead to then Netherlands before winning in penalties, Argentina's persistence made sure that they wouldn't suffer the same fate again. With a goal and an assist, Messi has taken the lead in the Golden Boot standings from Kylian Mbappe but this game is as much about Messi's supporting cast as it is about his pursuit for the World Cup. Only 22, Alvarez has had to bide his time at Manchester City due to Erdling Haaland leading the line but he has burst onto the stage during this World Cup. With a brace Tuesday, Alvarez has now scored four goals for Argentina but his work rate has been just as important. Alvarez winning the penalty and pressing defensively won't show up on the stat sheet, but it's so important to how Argentina have secured results. He was taken out with a chance for a hat trick but it was for a good reason with Paulo Dybala play...

Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 to reach the World Cup final as Lionel Messi worked his magic to move one win away from winning the trophy he covets most. The world (aside from one of France or Morocco) wants Messi to win this World Cup. FULL MATCH REPLAY Messi scored the opener from the penalty spot, then Julian Alvarez scored a superb second and Messi then mesmerized us all to set up Alvarez to seal his double and Argentina’s spot in the final. Croatia actually had the better chances before Argentina took the lead in the first half and the South American champs never looked back as they have now reached two of the last three World Cup finals. [ LIVE: World Cup 2022 schedule, how to watch, scores, hub ] They will play either France or Morocco in the final on Sunday, while Croatia will play the loser of the other semifinal in the third-place game on Saturday. Messi glides between the lines and Alvarez stretches them. Together, they are a deadly duo and they ripped Croatia apart. Argentina had the perfect game plan as they sat back, soaked up pressure and then when the won it back in midfield with a secondary press (led by the excellent Enzo Fernandez, Leandro Paredes and Alexis Mac Allister) they played direct in devastating fashion. Messi is Messi but for so long he hasn’t really had another player up top who can take the pressure off him and provide space for him to be at his best. He now has that in Alvarez as his pace and relentless pressing opens up so many opportunities f...

Argentina and Croatia will face off for a place in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final. Both sides sealed their place in the semifinals with penalty shootout victories last time out against the Netherlands and Brazil respectively. These two teams are no strangers to deep runs at World Cups with Croatia looking to make consecutive finals, while Argentina played the decisive match back in 2014. Only one of the nations can progress to another final, however, with these two boasting an even and fascinating record against the other. MORE: Argentina vs Croatia history Argentina and Croatia have played each other at two previous World Cups in 1998 and 2018. Both those games were in the group stages, however, with their next match looming as the biggest between the two. This fixture has only been played five times before with a relatively high 12 goals scored across the matches to date. A spot in the Tuesday: Argentina vs Croatia head-to-head In terms of past results, there is no splitting these two teams on paper. They have both won two games each after drawing their first ever match 0-0 back in 1994. Across the five fixtures, Croatia have managed to score more goals than Argentina with seven strikes compared to five. Notably, Lionel Messi has scored twice across his three matches against Croatia and comes into this semifinal with four goals in five games in Qatar. Argentina vs Croatia: Last five meetings Date Competition Result Scorers June 21, 2018 World Cup (Group stages) Croatia 3 ...