Argentina swaps Croatia 3-0 at Lusail Stadium in the tournament's first semi final

Lionel Messi starred as he scored one goal, created another and ran the show for a dominant Argentina  as they swept aside Croatia  3-0 at Lusail Stadium to book their place in the FIFA World Cup Qatar final.

Messi converted a first-half penalty in the minute 34 and had a hand in the other two goals by Julian Alvarez, meaning he will get another crack at winning that elusive World Cup crown, as he set up a meeting with either defending champions France or undergoes Morocco in Sunday’s title match.

With his goal against Croatia, Messi is the only historical scorer for Argentina in the World Cup with 11 goals, as he surpasses Gabriel Batistuta, who scored 10 goals, to become the historical scorer for the Tango team in the World Cup.

Messi also succeeded in reaching the fifth goal in the World Cup, equalizing the goals of Kylian Mbappe at the top of the scorers' ranking in general.

Julian Alvarez added the second goal in favor of the Argentine national team in the 39th minute of the match time, then the player himself attributed the progress of the Argentine national team with the third goal created by Lionel Messi in the 69th minute of the match time.

Messi appeared in his 25th World Cup match, equaling Lothar Matthaus as the most participating player in the history of the World Cup. Argentine set a date in the World Cup final that will be held next Sunday, with the winner of the France-Morocco match that will be held on Wednesday.

On the other hand, the Croatia will play with the loser from the other encounter for third place next Saturday.