Lionel Messi reaches 2022 World Cup final with Argentina, eliminating Croatia in semifinal
In spite of being an aging team, youth has been the driving force behind Argentina’s success at the 2022 World Cup. Argentina’s youthful squad was able to dominate the World Cup by outlasting opponents behind Enzo Fernandez and Alexis MacAllister in midfield, Nahuel Molina and Cristian Romero on defence, and Alvarez as a scorer.
Lionel Messi absolutely tore Croatia apart in the semifinals of the World Cup on Tuesday, scoring a penalty before Julian Alvarez bagged two goals in a 3-0 verdict. Despite appearing to have hamstring issues in the first half, Messi was unstoppable, scoring from the spot before Julian Alvarez scored twice. In a rare blunder by Dominik Lovankovic, Alvarez was penalized in the box.
In the 69th minute, Messi assisted Alvarez’s goal to put the game out of reach, stopping Croatia’s comeback attempt. Messi and Argentina’s persistence ensured that they would not lose twice to the Netherlands after squandering a 2-0 lead before winning in penalties. This game is as much about Messi’s supporting cast as it is about his pursuit for the World Cup. Despite being on the receiving end of a goal and an assist by Messi, Kylian Mbappe is the leader in the Golden Boot standings.
Alvarez, who’s just 22, has had to bide his time at Manchester City due to Erdling Haaland playing as the centre-forward, but he’s burst onto the scene during the World Cup. Four goals for Argentina have been supplemented by his aggressive work rate. The penalty Alvarez won and his defensive pressing aren’t recorded in the statistics, but they’re just as important to how Argentina have won games.
Paulo Dybala’s first World Cup minutes provide a boost for Argentina as they face Morocco or France in Sunday’s final. Alvarez was taken out with a chance for a hat trick but it was for a good reason with Dybala to come in for Argentia in his first minutes hamstring injury recovering with Roma.
Despite Croatia’s strong tournament performance, Messi’s quest for a World Cup title has taken centre stage on this day.
Everything that Messi has ever done in his career is different now. He’s dialed in, ready to strike, and looking to take home the Golden Boot in Qatar. Despite Messi’s limited involvement, he was able to pick his spots and make Croatia pay in the World Cup. His cross to Alvarez was great, and had it not been for some huge saves in the match, it could have resulted in a bigger win for Argentina.
During the team’s Copa America triumph, an empty stadium made it feel like an isolated moment, but the World Cup feels different since fans will be able to celebrate with Messi and the team. All Messi will have to do is win one more game to cap his World Cup with a championship.
The end of a Modric era is near
Luka Modric won the Golden Ball as the last World Cup’s best player last year, and Croatia has become a European power as a result. However, this World Cup has been a turning point for Ivan Perisic, Dejan Lovren, and Luka Modric, who are all 33 years old or older. Josko Gvardiol demonstrated that the next generation has strength, but Croatia is in the prime or twilight of its career at 27 or older, making the coming years interesting to watch.
Seeing what Croatia can do now that Modric is gone is going to be exciting. Young players now have someone they may aspire to replace, and Croatia’s performance at this World Cup was something they may never achieve again. 1998 was supposed to be the peak of Croatia’s generation, which the small country could not possibly match. As well, we’ve all seen what happened after that.
It is important to be strong in youth.
This is a team that has aged, but age has not been a factor for Argentina during this World Cup. Five starters are 24 or younger, enabling a team that has usually been one of the older ones in international tournaments to power through the World Cup. Alvarez is raking in goals for fun, making this Argentina’s future in good hands even with Messi’s final World Cup.
