Argentina defeated Croatia 3-0 to move to FIFA World Cup final for sixth time at Lusail Stadium on December 13, 2022 in Lusail City, Qatar.
For Argentina, Lionel Messi scored in 34′ (P), Julian Alvarez scored a brace in 39′ & 69′.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi has confirmed he will play his last FIFA World Cup game when Argentina takes on France or Morocco in Sunday’s final in Qatar.
He has scored 11 goals in 25 matches at the FIFA World Cup, spanning five editions (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022). Messi is the highest goal-scorer for Argentina at the football World Cup. With his fifth goal in Qatar, he also surpassed Gabriel Batistuta. He has also suppressed Diego Maradona and Javier Mascherano who have played four World Cup. He also got level with Lothar Matthaus as the player with most appearances in the FIFA World Cup, with both footballers level at 25 caps each in the tournament. Miroslav Klose is next with 24 appearances followed by Paolo Maldini 23 and Cristiano Ronaldo 22.
In the race of Golden Boot, Messi is tied with Kylian Mbappe with 5 goals.
Lionel Messi also becomes First Player to Win 10 World Cup Player of the Match Awards. Cristiano Ronaldo has won seven, while former Holland winger Arjen Robben won six.
Argentina Starting XI: Emiliano Martinez, Cristian Romero, Nicolas Otamendi, Nahuel Molina, Nicolas Tagliafico, Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez, Julian Alvarez, Lionel Messi
Croatia Starting XI: Dominik Livakovic, Borna Sosa, Ivan Perisic, Dejan Lovren, Mateo Kovacic, Andrej Kramaric, Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic, Mario Pasalic, Josko Gvardiol, Josip Juranovic
Picture Courtesy: FIFA Media
