Goals from midfielder Mariano Alvarez and forward Lionel Messi ensured the victory for Argentina, who will face either Morocco or France in the final on Sunday.
The match started with Argentina dominating the possession of the ball and creating chances, but Croatia managed to keep the game scoreless for the first 30 minutes. The Argentinian side put in an impressive performance, illustrating a solid defensive display and taking their chances when they came.
Alvarez opened the scoring window in the 34th minute of the game after he was taken down inside the 18-yard box by Croatian Dominik Livakovic. The referee granted Argentina penalty with a yellow card retribution to Croatia. Lionel Messi who has been dreaming of an opportunity in a world cup final took advantage of the penalty with a powerful precision strike that netted the Croatian goal in a ‘Messi-sendoff’ to the goalkeeper.
Five minutes later, 22-year-old Alvarez Mariano doubled the tally after forcing his way through the opposition's defensive line making a 2:0 win at the end of the first half of the match.
The Croatians, in the second half, tried to fight back but were unable to break the Argentinian defense and hunger for the world cup final. Messi doubled his dribbling ritual to score the goal but to no avail. He found his way to the Croatian byline and got an eagle eye on Alvarez who received his pass inside the box. Alvarez broke the deadlock and sealed the victory with a well-taken jaw-dropping strike, making his second goal of the game and his fourth goal in the tournament and a 3:0 win for Argentina over Croatia.
The match was a testament to the team’s attacking prowess, and their defensive work was also impressive. Croatia was limited to just a handful of chances throughout the match and was unable to find the back of the net.
The result means that Argentina will face France or Morocco in the final on Sunday, with the two sides looking to add the 2022 FIFA World Cup to their trophy cabinets. If France beats Morocco to face Argentina, it will be the first time the two sides have met in a World Cup final. However, if Morocco proceeds to the first and second place bid, it will be multiple record-breaking achievements for the team. This implies that whichever team proceeds to face Argentina will surely make a thrilling encounter.
The game took place at Lusail Stadium in Qatar with 88,966-full capacity attendance, the highest since the beginning of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
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