Argentina looked like they would have their work cut out against Croatia in the World Cup semi-final, but a Lionel Messi masterclass helped them breeze into the final.
The forward scored a penalty and produced one of the assists of the tournament as along with a Julian Alvarez double they helped end Luka Modric‘s World Cup dream for Croatia.
Here is how both sets of players rated at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.
Argentina breezed past Croatia to reach the World Cup final in Qatar after a 3-0 victory
Argentina (4-4-2)
Emiliano Martinez – Was rarely tested to his limits but looked alert in a polished display to deny Croatia’s rare attempts on target. 6.5
Nahuel Molina – The amazing run in the first half had the Croatian defence in a panic in the build up to the second goal and was rarely tested on the flank. 7
Cristian Romero – Typically robust in the tackle but never allowed the Croatia attack a sniff through the centre and led by example despite picking up a standard booking. 7.5
Argentina defender Cristian Romero kept the Croatia attackers at bay on Tuesday night
Nicolas Otamendi – The quieter of the two Argentina defenders but he too rarely put a foot wrong despite Croatia’s poor attempts to get back into the game. 6
Nicolas Tagliafico – Recalled into a back four and the faith in him was repaid with a lively showing. Solid in defence and a useful attacking outlet as well. 6.5
Rodrigo De Paul – Not his best game of the tournament, and the game largely passed him by. Like his team-mates though he did little wrong before he was eventually replaced. 5.5
Leandro Paredes – Enjoyed a solid game on his return to the side but no more. Made way after the hour mark so Argentina could add numbers to the defence. 5.5
Enzo Fernandez – Helped keep the pressure up on the Croatia defence attacking mainly on the left but drifted in and out of the game. 6
Alexis Mac Allister – The Brighton star looked sharp. Unfortunate to see a first half header well saved before a second half effort was fired just wide. 6.5
Lionel Messi was at his world class best to put Croatia to the sword at the Lusail Stadium
Lionel Messi – His World Cup just keeps getting better. His assist for Argentina’s third goal will be talked about for many years to come – especially if it leads to a triumph on Sunday. 8.5
Julian Alvarez – As the tournament has gone on he has built a real understanding with Messi to form a lethal partnership. Deserved his two goals, even if he was fortunate to be gifted the first. 8
SUBSTITUTES
Exequiel Palacios – Game was already won by the time he game on with 16 minutes to play and so had fairly little impact. 6
Lisandro Martinez – Brought on to bolster a defence that was already looking comfortable. Croatia though did go close to scoring seconds after his introduction. 6
Paulo Dybala – Brought on as a cameo just to give him some rare minutes in the tournament having fallen down the pecking order. 6
Julian Alvarez was sharp in the attack to score two goals as well as win a penalty
Croatia (4-3-3)
Dominik Livakovic – His saves were crucial against Brazil, but he conceded the penalty that led to a Croatia collapse they never recovered from. Still though produced a couple of decent stops. 5.5
Josip Juranovic – Nowhere near as effective on the right flank as he was against the Brazil and was easily shut down from an attacking standpoint. 5
Dejan Lovren – His error for the first goal led to Croatia’s semi-final collapse, and he also missed a chance to pull a goal back in the second after failing to convert a flick on at the far post. 4
Dejan Lovren endured a poor night with his mistake for the first goal starting Croatia’s collapse
Josko Gvardiol – One of the defenders of the tournament but he had no answer for Lionel Messi who danced around him all evening. 5.5
Borna Sosa – Endured a really poor evening, with his dreadful attempt at trying to clear the ball for the second goal seeing him slip and fall before Alvarez scored. Subbed at the break. 4
Marcelo Brozovic – The least effective of Croatia’s midfielders up until his departure and he only saw five minutes of the second half before he was subbed. 6
Mateo Kovacic – Started well and made a couple of encouraging surging runs but he faded badly in the second half as Croatia laboured for a way back into the game. 5.5
Luka Modric – As Croatia struggled, the midfield maestro couldn’t get his team going creatively. Replaced late on in what could be his international farewell after Sunday’s third place play-off. 6
Luka Modric struggled to influence the midfield on the night his World Cup dreams ended
Mario Pasalic – Couldn’t quite get as involved as he did in the Brazil game and like Sosa he too was replaced at the break. 5
Ivan Perisic – Was the liveliest of the attackers but his finishing even from half-chances just wasn’t threatening enough to trouble Martinez. 5.5
Andrej Kramaric – Was perhaps lucky to start after a poor showing against Brazil, and he was again ineffective before departing as a substitute once the game was lost at 3-0 down. 6.5
SUBSTITUTES
Mislav Orsic – Introduced energy into the attack against Brazil, but seemed to have the opposite effect in Lusail with the game completely passing him by. 6
Bruno Petkovic – Added presence to the attack but not enough to give the Argentina defence much to worry about. 6
Nikola Vlasic – Croatia’s midfield wasn’t doing much before he was introduced at half-time but he hardly helped matters with a weak display. 5.5
Marko Livaja – The game was long lost when he came on at 3-0 down but he was still hardly an upgrade on replacement Kramaric. 5.5
Ivan Perisic was a useful attacking outlet but struggled to produce an end product