Utter domination for Argentina — and Lionel Messi.
Messi was absolutely remarkable Dec. 13 as he led Argentina to a dominant 3-0 victory over Croatia to punch Argentina’s ticket into the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where they will be taking on the winner of Wednesday’s France vs. Morocco match.
Messi got the scoring started in the 34th minute of action after slamming a penalty kick into the goal — that score also put Messi atop Argentina’s all-time scoring list in World Cup finals. Not much longer after Argentina got the 1-0 advantage, they punched it up to 2-0 after Julián Álvarez ran it right through the Croatian defense like he was the soccer equivalent to Derrick Henry.
TOO EASY FOR MESSI 🐐
HE PUTS ARGENTINA OUT IN FRONT IN THE SEMIFINALS 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/bUSJIBlsYK
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 13, 2022
JULIAN ALVAREZ WHAT A GOAL 😱
2-0 ARGENTINA 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/73747qp92r
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 13, 2022
Let’s take a close-up look at that absolutely gorgeous run:
This view of Julián Álvarez’s run on the second Argentina goal 😍🔥 pic.twitter.com/M1VE73BtpE
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 13, 2022
In the second half, Argentina scored their third goal of the game after Messi had a beautiful run himself, using impressive speed changes to slide past Croatia’s Joško Gvardiol to tap an assist to Alvarez, who delivered the 3-0 lead for the South American powerhouse.
JULIAN ALVAREZ AGAIN
THREE for Argentina 🇦🇷🔥 pic.twitter.com/Zdt4JW3EBi
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) December 13, 2022
Just a sexy win by Argentina.
From start to finish, it was a pure steamrolling by Messi & Co., never allowing Croatia into the game. Rooting for Argentina myself after both the U.S. and Brazil got eliminated, I was loving the performance. It was absolutely fantastic, I had zero complaints, and I have a massive amount of confidence heading into the final that they’ll be your 2022 World Cup Champions. (RELATED: Neymar Unsure If He’ll Play For Country Again After World Cup Loss)
Now, don’t get me wrong, I know they’re going to have their hands full with France — and yes, I already have France taking out Morocco — but Argentina is looking really good right now. Messi is in tip-top form, as well as his supporting cast. Literally everything has lined up for them to win their first World Cup since 1986.
All they have to do is deliver, and I believe they will.
Do it for Argentina, do it for my beloved Miami.