Al Daayen, 14 December 2022 (TDI): The Argentinian football team faced off against Croatia on Tuesday at Lusail Stadium. The match witnessed Argentina beating Croatia by 3-0.
After beating Croatia, Argentina becomes the first team to reach the finals of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. They will face the winner of France versus Morocco in the next match.
Argentina competed in a World Cup semi-final for the fifth time this year. Furthermore, the team has reached the final six times. Argentina last took home the World Cup trophy in 1986.
On the other hand, Croatia first appeared in World Cup in 1998 and qualified for five of the next world cups. In all these appearances, they have two top-three finishes.
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Match Highlights
Argentina and Croatia both played carefully at the beginning of the game. However, after 30 minutes, Argentina took charge and never looked back.
Álvarez of Argentina and Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovi faced off in the 32nd minute, Lvarez was hauled down and awarded a penalty kick. Then, Lionel Messi, the Argentinian star player, took the stage giving his team a 1-0 lead.
Again in the 39th minute, Álvarez led a counterattack, ran past three Croatian defenders, and scored a solo goal giving Argentina a 2-0 lead at the half.
In the 69th minute, Messi picked up the ball under the challenge of Croatia defender Joško Gvardiol. He passed the ball on to Álvarez who powered it in for a 3-0 lead.
Messi tops all-time in FIFA
Lionel Messi has been on fire in this edition of the FIFA World Cup. He has won four Player of the Match awards and has found the back of the net in five out of the six matches played so far.
By appearing in this cup, he sets the record for participating in most World Cup matches (25).
By scoring the opening goal for the South Americans, he broke former Argentina striker Gabriel Batistuta’s record of scoring the most goals by an Argentine player in FIFA World Cup matches.
Messi now has 11 goals to his name in 25 matches. He is also the first player in World Cup history to score a goal and provide an assist in the same game in four matches.
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The player is determined to end the 36-year wait for his country by capping the first-ever World Cup title under his name.
It is pertinent to note that Lionel Messi has confirmed his retirement from international football after playing in the final match of the FIFA World Cup 2022.
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