By Victor Kanayo
Argentina on Tuesday night subdued Croatia in the semi-final clash to hit the final of the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Football star Lionel Messi was the cynosure of all eyes as his performance proved the difference throughout the duration of play for the Argentines.
Unlike them, the Croatians were shadows of themselves in the game.
They will now face the loser between France and Morocco in the third place match.
Argentina ’s master and pupil Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez combined to deadly effect as they reached their sixth World Cup final.
Messi now gets one last chance to win the piece of silverware that has eluded him in his trophy-laden career. Manchester City’s 22-year-old striker Alvarez claimed at least an equal share of top billing as Argentina ensured they will return on Sunday to face either France or Morocco.
Argentina’s little genius looked to be struggling with a hamstring problem early on but recovered enough to break the deadlock from the penalty spot after 34 minutes following Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic’s foul on the marauding Alvarez.
Alvarez doubled Argentina’s lead five minutes later when he took Messi’s header just inside Croatian territory and embarked on a slaloming run, aided by fortunate bounces off Josip Juranovic and Borna Sosa, before beating Livakovic.
There was no fortune involved in a brilliant third after the break as Messi mesmerised Croatia’s excellent defender Josko Gvardiol on the byeline before playing in Alvarez for the finish.
Meanwhile, Messi has gone level with Germany legend Lothar Matthaus’ all-time World Cup appearance record.
The Argentina captain lined up in attack as the South American side beat Croatia.
And starting that match has tied the 35-year-old PSG star with Matthaus in terms of appearances at the prestigious global tournament, with a total of 25.
That means Messi will move to 26 and overtake Matthaus’ record if he plays in either the final, where they would play either France or Morocco, if Lionel Scaloni’s men beat Croatia, or the third-placed play-off if they lose.
Messi, who has 170 international caps, is playing in his fourth World Cup but has never won the most coveted trophy, unlike Matthaus, who also played in four tournaments, from 1982-1998.
The 61-year-old former Bayern Munich midfielder or sweeper won the Ballon d’Or in 1990, the same year he captained Die Mannschaft to World Cup final glory against Argentina.
Matthaus played 150 times for West Germany and Germany, scoring 23 goals, and netted 204 goals in 782 matches in all competitions across a stellar club career with Bayern, Inter Milan and Borussia Monchengladbach.
He was part of the squad in 1982 as West Germany lost the final 3-1 against Italy, and played the full match four years later as his side were beaten 3-2 by Argentina.
