Argentina defeated Croatia 3-0 today at the Lusail stadium in Lusail, Qatar to make it into the 2022 World Cup Final.
Croatia played well and controlled most of the possession in the first half, but things slowly started to fall apart for them. It seems as if the grueling 120-minute games they have had to fight through finally got to them as their energy was not what it was previously.
In the 34th minute, Argentina was awarded a penalty after the Croatian keeper tripped a player in the box. Messi converted the penalty, blasting it up and into the roof of the net on the right side of the goal.
Five minutes later, La Albiceleste scored again thanks to an impressive run by forward Julián Álvarez. He would dribble out a couple of defenders in the box and then tap the ball past the keeper who was right on top of him.
Álvarez got his brace and Argentina’s final goal in the 69th minute after Messi held off two defenders and passed it back to him right outside the six for an easy tap-in goal.
Croatia had chances to get goals back but by the time they were able to step up and control possession again, they only had about 30 minutes to try and get three goals. Most of their attempts would be long shots that ended up going over the crossbar.
As a result, Argentina will play the winner of the France v. Morocco in the final, and Croatia will play the loser of the same match in the 3rd place match. France v. Morocco will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, November 14th at 2 pm EST.
Argentina will be looking to win the Cup for the first time since 1986 as well as getting their star Lionel Messi his first-ever World Cup. The last time they made it to the finals was back in 2014 when they lost 1-0 to Germany.
Photo: Julián Álvarez – Shutterstock – user: Fede Peretti – ID: 2161858075
