Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring from the penalty spot the opening goal during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between Argentina and Croatia at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on December 13, 2022.
| Photo Credit: AP
Lionel Messi scored from the spot before Julian Alvarez grabbed another with a fantastic solo run to give Argentina a 2-0 lead over Croatia at halftime in the first World Cup semi-final on Tuesday.
Argentina won the penalty in the 32nd minute when goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic tried to deny Alvarez, who was through on goal, bringing down the Manchester City forward and getting booked in the process.
Messi stepped up and made no mistake, firing the spot kick into the top corner for his 11th goal in World Cups, the most by any Argentina player in the tournament’s history.
Five minutes later, Alvarez picked up the ball near the half line from a Messi pass and went on a magical run through the Croatian defence, going past three defenders and enjoying some lucky rebounds before stabbing the ball past Livakovic for 2-0.
Lineups
Argentina: Emiliano Martinez, Nicolas Tagliafico, Nicolas Otamendi, Cristian Romero, Nahuel Molina, Alexis Mac Allister, Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernandez, Rodrigo De Paul, Julian Alvarez, Lionel Messi.
Croatia: Dominik Livaković, Dejan Lovren, Borna Sosa, Joško Gvardiol, Josip Juranović, Mateo Kovačić, Marcelo Brozović, Luka Modrić, Mario Pasalic, Ivan Perišić, Andrej Kramarić.
