Jubilation for Messi and the Argentine team, as they advance into the Qatar 2022 World Cup finals after defeating Croatia 3 goals to nil.
Messi launched the Lusail Stadium atmosphere after scoring a penalty few minutes into the match before Julian Alvarez made it 2 goals, all in the first half.
In the 69th minute into the second half, the Argentina team confirmed their spot in the finals with another solid goal from Alvarez .
For Messi, his goal at the semi-final has made him the highest goal Argentine scorer in this world cup, up with 5 goals, followed by Alvarez who now has four.
Messi, who had previously tied Gabriel Batistuta’s record with his goal against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the competition, took his tally to 11 goals with his goal against Croatia in the competition as well.
Messi’s goals began with Argentina’s first match in the World Cup, when he converted the penalty against Saudi Arabia in the 10th minute.
Since then, he has scored a stunner against Mexico from outside the box and another against Australia, giving Argentina the lead in both the cases.
The quest for the Golden boot lies between Kylian and Messi, as speculated by fans.
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Here are some of the reactions to the just-concluded semi-final:
@ESPNFC “Lionel Messi is one step closer to being the first Argentine to lift the World Cup trophy since Maradona in 1986”
@ESPNFC Lionel Messi is the oldest man to ever score 5 goals at a single World Cup ???? Always breaking records
@footballflick “Argentina are the first finalists. Brilliant performance! Croatia have had another brilliant run however it’s all over. Who will join Argentina in the final, France or Morocco?”
@RioMoussallem “Last Friday, though I was devastated by Brazil loss but I got to experience the best atmosphere in a football game during & after #Argentina vs Netherlands. The Argentinian fans are amazing. I imagine this is happening now again in the metro stations.”