UNSTOPPABLE Lionel Messi masterminded Argentina’s 3-0 win over Croatia this evening – and destroyed Josip Juranovic’s World Cup dream.
The little magician took centre stage as he netted the opener via the penalty spot in the 34th minute and set up the killer third for Julian Alverez in the 69th minute.
Alverez had netted the second before the break after powering through the middle of the hesitant Croatia central defence.
IT TAKES TWO…Lionel Messi congratulates Julian Alvarez after Argentina’s killer third goal against Josip Juranovic’s Croatia.
Celtic right-back Juranovic was isolated for a huge percentage of the occasion with most of the play developing on the opposite wing.
The defender can rightly hold his head high after his efforts in the soccer showpiece in Qatar, especially his Man of the Match performance in the quarter-final penalty-kick victory over tournament favourites Brazil.
But it was all over when Messi mesmerised his team-mates with a bewildering run along the right byline before setting up Alverez for a drilled third.
Messi and Co now await the winners of tomorrow night’s other semi-final between France and Morocco to see who they will play in Sunday afternoon’s grand finale.
