DOHA
\nLionel Messi will get his date with World Cup destiny, and the chance to emulate Diego Maradona, after Argentina\u2019s emphatic 3-0 win over Croatia on Tuesday took them through to the final in Qatar.
\nIt is 36 years since Maradona dragged Argentina to their second and most recent World Cup triumph in Mexico, the crowning moment of his dazzling but often troubled career.
\nMessi came to FIFA World Cup 2022 admitting it would surely be his last at the age of 35 and therefore his final opportunity to lift the trophy that escaped him in 2014, when Argentina were defeated by Germany in Brazil.
\nThe sense that Messi was building up to this moment was apparent in his displays for Paris Saint-Germain in the months before the tournament and he has performed at this World Cup like a player with no more time to waste.
\nSixteen years after making his World Cup debut as a teenager, Qatar has witnessed Messi finally score in the knockout stages of the tournament, and he has done so in three straight games.
\nOn Tuesday he scored his 11th World Cup goal, overtaking compatriot Gabriel Batistuta, who previously held the Argentine record.
\nHe has now equalled former German player Lothar Matthaeus\u2019 record of 25 World Cup appearances.
\nMessi\u2019s performance against Croatia at Lusail Stadium was typical of his late career \u2013 a player who saves energy and spends long periods on the fringes of the game.
\nYet for his country he is a captain who can still inspire and who always looks capable of creating something when the ball comes to his feet.
\nGoalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, who had been the hero in shoot-outs in the previous two rounds, had no chance of stopping Messi\u2019s first-half penalty.
\nMessi then sent Julian Alvarez away to make it 2-0 late in the first half with a first-time ball on a counterattack.
\nBut he saved the best moment for midway through the second half with a magnificent assist, twisting and turning to make a fool of Croatia\u2019s Josko Gvardiol before teeing up Alvarez to score again.
\n\u201cIn the past 15 years he\u2019s probably been the best player in the world and today he was very good again,\u201d admitted the Croatia coach, Zlatko Dalic.
\nMessi is now level with Kylian Mbappe as the Qatar World Cup\u2019s leading scorer, with five goals, but his assist was further confirmation of how the former Barcelona player has evolved with age.
\nThe PSG version spends much of his time creating goals for Mbappe, and now for Argentina he is doing the same for the exciting young striker Alvarez.
\n\u201cSometimes it seems like we say Messi is the greatest just because we are Argentine, but I think there is no doubt about it,\u201d said coach Lionel Scaloni.
\n\u201cI am privileged to coach him and be able to watch him. It\u2019s thrilling.\u201d
\nArgentina\u2019s run to the final has not been entirely down to Messi \u2013 their vast and passionate support turned the semi-final effectively into a home game, with fans filling Lusail with the sound of their anthem \u201cMuchachos\u201d.
\nScaloni has built a capable team around their one true great, taking Argentina into the final of the first World Cup since the death of Maradona.
\nArgentines may feel that it was meant to be, and Qatar will surely be delighted too.
\nJust over a year after he ended his long association with Barcelona and signed for Qatar-owned PSG, Messi\u2019s presence will light up the final in Doha.
\nBut, depending on the outcome of Wednesday\u2019s second semi-final between France and Morocco, it could be his club teammate Mbappe blocking his path to glory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DOHA Lionel Messi will get his date with World Cup destiny, and the chance to emulate Diego Maradona, after Argentina\u2019s emphatic 3-0 win over Croatia on Tuesday took them through to the final in Qatar. It is 36 years since Maradona dragged Argentina to their second and most recent World Cup triumph in Mexico, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301340,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-301331","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n