Argentina have booked their place in the World Cup final, recording a convincing 3-0 victory over Croatia in Qatar this evening.
The result never really looked in doubt. While the Croatians would have some good possession in the opening exchanges, they never looked like troubling the opposition.
After Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot just after the half hour mark, the result seemed all but certain.
From here, it was all about Argentina. They produced some brilliant passages of play, with this assist from Lionel Messi the moment of the game.
We could watch this Lionel Messi run on repeat for hours. Obscene 😬 #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/LkCHm7phKd
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) December 13, 2022
Combined with his goal, it was yet another brilliant performance from the 35-year old.
Gary Neville's Lionel Messi comment ages like milk
While a stern test is certain to await them in the final, there feels to be a sense of destiny around Argentina at this World Cup. That firmly emanates from Lionel Messi, with a huge portion of football fans willing him to win the biggest prize in the sport.
It is remarkable that he is still performing to such a high level at his age, dispelling any pre-tournament notions that he was too far gone in his career to lead his country to the latter stages of the tournament.
Some were even writing him off after the tournament started.
Speaking on Sky Sports towards the end of the groups stages, Gary Neville said that it was obvious from the first couple of Argentina games that opposition players no longer feared Lionel Messi.
This aged well. #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/2OxC0waPTN
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) December 13, 2022
Messi the other night, Messi was walking around the pitch.
I said at halftime people don't fear him anymore, they don't. When he's on the ball now people go and take it off him, they go and tackle him.
This aged well.
Even Jamie Carragher couldn't resist a go at his colleague after tonight's result.
The back track after this game & before the final will be sensational from @GNev2 #Messi𓃵 😂😂
pic.twitter.com/Bzwes2U2lp— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) December 13, 2022
Brilliant.
If you are to learn one thing from this tournament, it's never to write off Lionel Messi.
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