LUSAIL (Qatar): Dec 14,2022: Argentina reached in the final of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – beat Croatia in the 1st Semi Final 3-0 at – Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar
Lionel Messi and 2 Goals Julian Alvarez gives Argentina wins over Croatia in the first semi-final of the FIFA World Cup.
Argentina have never lost a semi-final.Argentina captain Lionel Messi scored plenty of kicks and Alvarez Molina’s field goal.
Messi is playing in his 25th World Cup match to level with German great Lothar Matthaeus as the joint record holder for most appearances in the tournament.Lionel Messi scored from the spot before Julian Alvarez grabbed another with a fantastic solo run to give Argentina a 2-0 lead over Croatia at halftime in the first World Cup semi-final on Tuesday.
Argentina won the penalty in the 32nd minute when goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic tried to deny Alvarez, who was through on goal, bringing down the Manchester City forward and getting booked in the process.
Messi stepped up and made no mistake, firing the spot kick into the top corner for his 11th goal in World Cups, the most by any Argentina player in the tournament’s history.
Five minutes later, Alvarez picked up the ball near the half line from a Messi pass and went on a magical run through the Croatian defence, going past three defenders and enjoying some lucky rebounds before stabbing the ball past Livakovic for 2-0.
Argentina made two changes in the starting eleven that won on penalties against the Netherlands for the semi-final against Croatia, who named an unchanged line-up.
Nicolas Tagliafico started as left full-back in place of suspended Marcos Acuna while Leandro Paredes came into midfield with defender Lisandro Martinez on the bench.
Croatia started with the same team that beat Brazil, also on penalties, in the quarter-finals.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi is playing in his 25th World Cup match to level with German great Lothar Matthaeus as the joint record holder for most appearances in the tournament.
Following are the teams:
Argentina: 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: Dominik Livakovic, Borna Sosa, Ivan Perisic, Dejan Lovren, Mateo Kovacic, Andrej Kramaric, Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic, Mario Pasalic, Josko Gvardiol, Josip Juranovic
