A magician. A cat with a string. A ballerina. An artiste. Pick any comparison you like, and it still won’t do Lionel Messi justice, nrarmour writes.
For all of his success and accolades, there is one hole on Messi’s glittering résumé. He has won Champions League titles, set scoring records and his seven Ballon d’Or trophies are more than any other player. His No. 10 jersey has become iconic, the light-blue-and-white version in particular, found in every city around the world.Argentina has made only one final with Messi, and they ran into a Germany team that was a buzzsaw in 2014.
The shocking loss to Saudi Arabia in the opener is nothing more than a bad memory now. Argentina is unbeaten since then, and has outscored its opponents 11-3. "I feel very happy in this World Cup," Messi said."I am enjoying it a lot, and luckily now I am able to help my whole squad make things happen."Messi smashed a penalty kick in the 34th minute that Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic had no chance of stopping, even though he dove the right way.
In the 69th minute, Messi got the ball and dribbled to the edge of the box, where he danced around Josko Gvardiol. The young Croatian has been one of the best defenders of the tournament, but Messi turned him sideways, toying both with the ball and Gvardiol before clearing space for himself. He ran to the edge of the 6-yard box and crossed to Julian Alvarez, who was in front of the goal and had only to tap the ball in to give Argentina the 3-0 lead. It was Alvarez's second goal of the game, after he slalomed through three Croatian defenders and lifted the ball over Livakovic.
"Not much needs to be said about Messi’s qualities," Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said."He was very good and dangerous. He makes the difference in the quality for the Argentina team."Children all over the world have been inspired by Messi, and none more so than those in Argentina. Alvarez was 12 when he got a photo with his longtime idol and now, 10 years later, he's playing alongside him.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Messi, Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 to reach World Cup finalLionel Messi is back in the World Cup final with Argentina on his mission to win soccer’s biggest prize for the first time. And, at 35, he could hardly be playing any better.
Read more »
Messi helps Argentina advance to World Cup final with 3-0 win over CroatiaIt will be Messi’s second World Cup final — Argentina lost the other one to Germany in 2014 — in what might be his last appearance at the tournament.
Read more »
Messi, Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 to reach World Cup finalLUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — Lionel Messi is back in the World Cup final with Argentina on his mission to win soccer’s biggest prize for the first time.
Read more »
Lionel Messi powers Argentina back into World Cup final with rout of CroatiaLionel Messi is again on the one stage that’s marred his famed career.
Read more »
Lionel Messi, Argentina Advance to World Cup Final With 3-0 Win vs. CroatiaNEW: The dream lives on for Lionel Messi and Argentina. La Albiceleste secured a 3-0 win over Croatia in their 2022 FIFA World Cup semifinal matchup on Tuesday in style.
Read more »