Lionel Messi has a dream. And he decided to take the means to make it happen.
Their prowess carried Argentina to a 3-0 victory over Croatia on Tuesday in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup. Now they are in the grand final, awaiting the winner in the match between Morocco and France, this Wednesday.
Quite a contrast with the start of the tournament for the Argentinians, who had let their meeting slip away 2-1 against Saudi Arabia. Messi did not fail to recall it on Tuesday.
“To start like this, against an opponent against whom we did not expect to lose, was a very hard test for this group, underlined the Argentine legend. But he showed he was strong. He advanced game by game. What we did was difficult, because every match was a final. We played five finals, we won five. Let’s hope that’s the case for the next one. »
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul also underlined the cohesion in this group from Albiceleste.
“I never tire of saying it: inside the locker room, we knew we were capable of it,” de Paul said. We suffered a blow at the start, but then every game was like a final, we had to win no matter what. »
Álvarez and Messi, unstoppable
The story of this clash is Messi, of course. He scored the first penalty goal (34e minute). In addition to offering the best pass of this tournament for the 3-0 net. A marvelous dash of the brush on the right wing which, once the board has dried up, will certainly deserve its place in the museum of the great games in the history of the World Cup.
But the other man in this semi-final is the young Julián Álvarez. It was he who won the penalty for the first goal, just missing his lobbed shot before being mowed down by Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livaković.
It was he who scored the 2-0, a few minutes later, running down half the pitch with the ball at his feet, taking advantage of two clearances missed by the Croats, until putting the last touch in the area.
And it is still Álvarez who is the beneficiary of Messi’s masterful action in the 69e. And let’s talk about this action.
Messi comes with the leather from the midline to deep. He is closely pursued by two Croatian defenders, including the excellent Joško Gvardiol. He stops, has his back to him, dribble with the ball, throws himself towards the back, passes him, gets closer to the net along the goal line… then passes to Álvarez, who only has to hit the bull’s eye. mouth.
What a moment for the 22-year-old Manchester City striker! What a moment for Argentina who not only heads for the grand final, but also does so for the benefit of a Messi at the top of his game, motivated and motivating for his teammates! The small and large number 10 was also at a 25e World Cup match on Tuesday, tied at the top of the charts with Germany’s Lothar Matthäus. He will overtake him if he plays in the final on Sunday.
“I’ve been enjoying all this, this World Cup for a while now,” Messi said after the game. […] We asked people to trust us, because we know what we are worth. »
“There is still a small step to take and there is hope,” said defender Nicolás Otamendi. We are there and we will try to give the maximum to reach the goal. We are 26 warriors, ready to fight for ours. »
Luka Modric at dusk
Croatia had the upper hand in possession, but never really threatened. Of his 12 shots attempted, only 2 were on target. On the other hand, playing the counter-attack, Argentina not only created better chances, they also took advantage of them. Nine shots attempted, seven on target, three goals.
“I have nothing to reproach my players for,” said Croatian coach Zlatko Dalić. We have nothing to complain about. We will fight for third place. We have created some good situations, but without real opportunity. »
Croatia’s defeat also means 37-year-old Luka Modrić is now well and truly into the twilight of his international career. He still has the match for third place to play on Saturday. And he probably plans to participate in Euro 2024. But the 2026 World Cup is not for tomorrow. And this, although he continues to defy predictions, being still one of the most effective midfielders in the world.
PHOTO FRANK AUGSTEIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Luka Modric
That said, with this semi-final in Qatar, the end of his career is more like a magnificent sunset in the Bas-Saint-Laurent in summer than a dull and gloomy sky at the end of December without snow in Montreal.
We were talking about the dream of Lionel Messi. It will be a second World Cup final with Argentina on Sunday, after that of 2014 lost against Germany. Many fans consider him to be the greatest male player in sports history. In Argentina, he still has to touch the World Cup trophy to hope to reach the level of Diego Maradona in the hearts of his compatriots.
The chance offered to him on Sunday will probably be his last. Though…