Messi leads Albicelestes into another World Cup Final
World Cup Diaries: Day 23.
World Cup Diaries: Day 23.
13th December 2022
ARGENTINA 3 (Messi 34, Alvarez 39 and 69)
CROATIA 0
To say I was looking forward to this evening’s game would perhaps be the biggest understatement of my personal World Cup so far, but for half an hour it seemed as though my excitement had been misplaced. For 30 minutes each side seem to feel their way into this semi-final. It was the stereotypical chess match of each team having comfortable possession of the ball whilst trying to pull the other out of position but it took a quarter of an hour for the game’s first corner and fully 25 minutes for the game’s first shot on goal, and a tame effort from Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez. In truth, the first third of the game this evening was only enlivened when the central figures of Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Croatia’s Luke Modric were on the ball. Messi barely figured but when he did it was quick, sharp passes through the midfield lines and his fellow legend Modric was in a deeper lying position for Croatia as they tried to establish a firm footing in the game.
For 30 minutes it wasn’t much of a game, and then everything changed.
Ironically it was Luke Modric who lost possession of the ball in the lead up to the game’s opening game that consequently opened the game up too, however it was still a simple straight long ball to Julian Alvarez that opened up the Croatian defence. With Alvarez bearing down on his goal, Croatia goalkeeper (and star of the tournament for his team) Dominik Livakovic, had no alternative but to rush from his goal line to try and close the angle on the striker, but Alvarez toe poked the ball past the advancing goalkeeper before he crashed into the striker ensuring a cast iron penalty award. Lionel Messi crashed a perfect left footed drive into the corner of Livakovic’s net in a penalty described by ITV’s genial and entertaining co-commentator Ally McCoist as “unstoppable”, and the hordes and hordes of Argentinians in the Lusail Stadium roared their approval for the little genius in their number 10 shirt.
The otherworldly footballing gift from the Gods was involved in all three of his team’s goals this evening, and it was his lunging touch that set Julian Alvarez away on his brilliant driving run and goal on 39 minutes that ensured Argentina had one foot in Sunday’s World Cup final. But to fully appreciate this second and almost certainly decisive goal, you have to consider that the goal itself came from a Croatia corner which the goal scorer Alvarez deflected partly clear from his own six yard area. From there, the 22 year old striker from Calchin sprinted forward to latch onto the lunging pass from Messi and on receipt of the ball he was still in his own half and inside the centre circle. With Rodrigo De Paul and Nahuel Molina making lung busting runs either side of him and pulling a bedraggled Croatian defence with them, Alvarez just ran at the heart of the defence getting a little luck, a bounce of the ball, a richochet and some desperate defending on his way to smashing a decisive second goal past Dominik Livakovic.
Croatia had their first shot of any substance on the Argentina goal on the cusp of half-time (and rarely threatened in the second half) but just seconds later it was that man Messi again who, with Croatia defenders surrounding him on all sides still managed to retain control of the ball before being fouled on the touchline. As the referee blew his whistle to end a torturous first 45 minutes for Croatia, Ally McCoist exclaimed of the genius from Rosario:
“That’s officially unfair. He’s lost the ball three times there and he’s still got it!”
Pleasingly, Brighton and Hove Albion’s Alexis Mac Allister was again magnificent (I keep telling you he’s fantastic!), 21 year old Enzo Fernandez continues to grab his chance with both hands after scoring against Mexico and retaining his place in the team and Rodrigo De Paul and Leandro Paredes gave their team the energy and tenacity to not allow Croatia any time on the ball or space between the footballing lines of midfield and attack. On any other night the game’s “Man of the Match” award would surely go to two goal hero Julian Alvarez and not simply for his two goals but for his nagging persistence in attack and for often being his team’s first line of defence, a hallmark of a great striker.
But this was a World Cup semi-final and not any other night, and a stage set for a Lionel Messi masterclass perfectly summarised in his team’s third and last goal on 69 minutes. As with the lead up to Argentina’s first two goals, there didn’t appear to be any danger whatsoever when the little genius received the ball from a throw-in on the touchline but with three or four quick touches of that Godlike left foot, he’d turned Josko Gvardiol, and was now running toward the edge and outside of the Croatia penalty. Still running, Messi stopped his opponent, a much bigger, stronger opponent in Gvardiol not once, but twice, but still resumed attacking the penalty area and the dead ball line. Twisting and turning, Messi finally beat his opponent one final time before passing inside to Julian Alvarez for the easiest of tap-in goals, and Argentina were very definitely in their sixth all time World Cup final, and their second in eight years.
On Messi’s assist for the third goal, Ally McCoist again spoke for the footballing connoisseur by stating “that was just genius”.
And it was.
Thanks for reading. In addition to the delights that can be found within the cave of wonders that is my archives, I’m penning a day to day diary of the World Cup, and here are days 20 through 22:
“The Dark Arts” and other tall tales from the World Cup
World Cup Diaries: Day 22.medium.com
England are coming home as Morocco shock the world. Again!
World Cup Diaries: Day 21.medium.com
Argentina and Croatia in a shoot-out for the World Cup Final
World Cup Diaries: Day 20.medium.com