Having scored during Argentina's 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-final win over Croatia, Lionel Messi made history for his nation by becoming their all-time top goalscorer at the global showpiece.
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On Tuesday night, Argentina booked their spot in football's biggest match when they emphatically saw off Croatia 3-0 to progress to the World Cup final.
While the eastern Europeans had the better of the early exchanges, it was the South American champions who clinically capitalised on their opponents' mistakes.
At the heart of all that was good in an attacking sense for the Argentines was Messi, with the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner showing he can still perform on football's biggest stage despite being 35 years old.
After Lionel Scaloni's men were awarded a penalty in the first half, the Paris Saint-Germain star stepped up and thumped the ball past Dominik Livakovic to give the Argentines the lead.
In the process, Messi became Argentina's all-time leading goalscorer at World Cups with 11 strikes, surpassing legendary striker Gabriel Batistuta.
In the second half, the diminutive football icon would help put the game beyond all doubt when, after a mazy run, he slickly dribbled past Josko Gvardiol to assist Julian Alvarez and help the 22-year-old bag his second of the night.
Messi's assist sees him tied with Ronaldo Nazario and Miroslav Klose as the players with the most goal contributions in the World Cup since 1966 with 19, according to Squawka.
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The Rosario native will now be looking to right the wrongs of 2014, the last time he was in a World Cup final, when Argentina lost to Germany 1-0 courtesy of a Mario Gotze goal in extra-time.
This time it will be against either Morocco or France, who will do battle on Wednesday night for a place in the decider.
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