Sam is of the opinion that Lionel Messi will get his hands on the World Cup trophy after Argentina's victory. There is a time and a place for it.
Lionel Messi led Argentina to a sixth World Cup final with a comfortable win over Croatia.
There will be news and features at the World Cup.
Messi scored his fifth goal in the country with a first-half penalty after a run and finish that started in his own half, after a second run and finish that started in the other side of the field. There were no doubts about Argentina's participation in the final when Messi's mazy run down the right was finished off by Alvarez.
Player ratings, best and worst performers, highlights and notable moments, post match quotes, and key statistics are included in the jump.
Messi is in the Middle East. The trophy is next on the list.
He scored his 11th World Cup goal on the night he joined Lothar Matthaus as the joint record appearance maker in men's World Cup history. If this tournament doesn't end with a World Cup winner's medal on his CV, that's all that matters.
He has done his part to drag Argentina to their sixth final, scoring in each knockout round so far, and now he has the chance to join the pantheon of great players who have won the game's biggest prize. He's put together a career that puts him in the conversation about the best of all time, but winning the World Cup would make it even better.
One of the two remaining players from Argentina's World Cup final defeat to Germany knows that close is not close enough. He will have the chance to win the trophy that has been missing from his collection.
His assist for Alvarez's second goal, picking up the ball on the halfway line and squeezing past Gvardiol on the touchline, was a reminder that he is still one of the best players in the world.
If Messi is ready to ride off into the sunset, perhaps with the World Cup tucked under his arm, then Alvarez already looks ready to replace him.
Before the tournament began, there was no doubt that Lautaro was going to be Lionel's first-choice centre-forward, but he took his chance when it arrived. The main man next to Messi is a man.
He had to wait until the third group game against Poland to start, but since then, the 22-year-old has four goals in four games to make himself a certain starter. One of Argentina's greatest World Cup moments will be his goal against Croatia.
He has shown how good he is, even at a young age, even though he has gone under the radar at City this season. How can he become a better person? He'll do well to get near Messi's records, but as one forward prepares for his send-off, another is showing there is more to this Argentina team than their icon.
France scored four times in the final to defeat Croatia and win the World Cup. Argentina scored two times in five minutes to end it.
They were organised at the back and kept the ball in the middle to force extra time against Brazil. The plan was not to have a few minutes of chaos just before the half-time break.
Coach Zlatko Dalic will wonder how a straight ball from the halfway line was enough to send the player through before he was brought down. He will be confused at how a Croatia corner ended up with the forward running from his own half to score, despite the forward giving both Josip Juranovic and Borna Sosa opportunities to clear the ball.
Croatia does not score a lot of goals. It was disastrous to give two sloppy ones at such a crucial point.
It shouldn't detract from what they've achieved at the World Cup, reaching two consecutive semifinals is a remarkable feat for a country of less than 4 million.
Nicolas Tagliafico and Lionel Messi are both from Argentina.
Subs: Lisandro, Exequiel, Palacios, Dybala.
Josip Juranovic, Borna Sosa, Dejan Lovren, Luka Modric, Mario Pasalic, and Ivan Perisic are all from Croatia.
Subs: Lovro Majer 6.
The person who had the best performance was the one from Argentina. He scored the second goal with a run that began in his own half after he won the penalty.
The worst is Borna Sosa. Croatia's left-back looked nervous early on and was one of the defenders who allowed Argentina to score.
More than Maradona. Messi has scored more in the World Cup than anyone else.
LIONEL MESSI PASSES GABRIEL BATISTUTA TO BECOME ARGENTINA'S ALL-TIME LEADING WORLD CUP GOALSCORER! ๐ฆ๐ท pic.twitter.com/njhhcOQoJk
โ ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) December 13, 2022
This is probably the end of an era for Croatia, as Luka Modric walks off the pitch in international competition for what is likely the last time.
Luka Modric comes off for what may be his last World Cup game.
A standing ovation for a legend ๐ pic.twitter.com/TEL37wtBYX
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