Srinagar: It has been so far a fairytale story for World’s Greatest footballer Argentina’s Lionel Messi in the World Cup 2022 Qatar and on Wednesday, the talented footballer was at his best in the semifinal vs Croatia.
In the match, Argentina beat Croatia by 3-0 margin with Messi registering a goal and an assist.
In the 34th minute, Messi scored from the penalty spot, giving Argentina a 1-0 lead, which also made him his country’s highest goalscorer in World Cup history.
However the highlight of the night was Alvarez’s second goal that was all set up by magical Messi.
Messi received the ball just a little ahead of the half-way line on the right flank and then he ran with the ball to the side of the penalty box.
Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol who is reckoned highly and considered one of World’s Best Defender was chasing Messi all along but to no success as even when it seemed like Messi would not be able to shake off the young defender, he took a turn away from the goal and with seconds switched back to leave Gvardiol wrong footed.
Messi then ran along the touch line and squeezed in a pass from between the legs of the defender, giving it inside the penalty box to Julian Alvarez, who made no mistake to make it 3-0
Messi’s goal against Croatia was his fifth goal of the tournament, making him joint top-scorer with France’s Kylian Mbappe. He scored his 11th career goal — in a record-equalling 25th World Cup appearance. He also surpassed Gabriel Batistuta as Argentina’s all-time World Cup top scorer. Messi has also become the first player to score and assist in four different matches at the FIFA World Cup matches since 1966.