Lionel Messi hailed his best ever form at a World Cup last night after a sparkling performance against Croatia secured his first final and a long-awaited chance to join the great Diego Maradona in securing a winner’s medal.
The 35-year-old scored his fifth goal of the tournament and brilliantly helped set up his team’s third goal as the South Americans swept aside the European’s 3-0.
Messi said immediately afterwards that the opening match shock defeat against Saudi Arabia had been a catalyst for his team who feel like they now played in five consecutive finals. Messi is now on five goals and three assists and it was put to him that this has been the best he has ever played at a World Cup throughout his career at the top of the game.
“What I can say is that I am enjoying this a lot, I am feeling really good and I am feeling strong enough to face every match,” he said.
“Today we were tired but we played to our strengths to be strong and earn this victory….we played very well…. personally I feel very happy in this World Cup and I am glad to help the others.”
Argentina are nearing their best at the perfect time ahead of the final on Sunday.
Messi said: “Internally we were confident we would make it”. We lost in the first game from fine margins but that allowed us to grow strong.” He added: “We have played five finals and luckily enough we have won the five.”
Messi scored from the spot before Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez ended a driven solo run with a cool finish, then benefitted from a brilliant assist by the skipper in a 3-0 semi-final win against Croatia.
The Paris St Germain star finished as World Cup runner-up in 2014 and his determination to finally get his hands on the trophy has been clear in Qatar, where thousands have flocked to cheer him in that quest.
What is Argentina’s World Cup record?
Argentina have been World Cup winners on two occasions: 1978 and 1986. The latter, won in Mexico is one of the most iconic triumphs in the tournament’s history with La Albiceleste captained by Diego Maradona, who was at the height of his powers.
In the midst of his successful seven-year spell with Napoli, he created five and scored five, including the infamous Hand of God goal and the mazy 60-yard run later voted ‘Goal of the Century’ in a 2-1 quarter-final win over England.
They also finished runners-up in both 1990 and 2014, losing to Germany, in one form or another, in the final on both occasions.
Argentina World Cup 2022 squad
Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Franco Armani (River Plate) and Geronimo Rulli (Villarreal)
Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), German Pezzella (Real Betis), Cristian Romero (Tottenham Hotspur), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martinez (Manchester United), Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Nicolas Tagliafico (Olympique Lyonnais), Marcos Acuna (Sevilla)
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes (Juventus), Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Enzo Fernandez (Benfica), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Alejandro Gomez (Sevilla), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Forwards: Paulo Dybala (AS Roma), Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain), Angel Di Maria (Juventus), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Joaquin Correa (Inter Milan), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan), Julian Alvarez (Manchester City).
Who are their key players?
Until the day he retires from international football (which for a short time in 2016 seemed to have been the case), Messi will always be the standout name in Argentina’s squad. While he didn’t enjoy the most fruitful of campaigns with new club PSG in 2021-22 – at least by his superhuman standards – he is always one of the most dangerous players at the tournament who can produce the moment of magic his country needs.
As well as the captain, Martínez was also weighing in with his fair share of goals in the lead-up to the World Cup. He has bagged 21 goals in 39 appearances since earning his first Argentina cap back in 2018 and will be hoping to build on a successful domestic season with Inter Milan; Martinez scored 21 goals in 35 Serie A appearances in 2021-22.
One of the more crucial defensive players for Argentina is Cristian Romero. The 24-year-old made an instant impact in north London after signing for Tottenham in the summer of 2021, making 22 league appearances last season and simultaneously cementing his place as a regular in the national side.
Who, where and when do Argentina play?
Argentina will play either France or Morocco in the World Cup final on Sunday, December 18 at 3pm.
Argentina’s results
Group Stage
November 22: Argentina 1 Saudi Arabia 2
November 26: Argentina 2 Mexico 0
November 30: Poland 0 Argentina 2
Last 16
December 3: Argentina 2 Australia 1
Quarter-final
December 9: Netherlands 2 Argentina 2 (Argentina win 4-3 on penalties)
Semi-final
December 13: Argentina 3 Croatia 0
Argentina | Australia | Belgium | Brazil | Cameroon | Canada | Costa Rica | Croatia | Denmark | Ecuador | England | France | Germany | Ghana | Iran | Japan | Mexico | Morocco | Netherlands | Poland | Portugal | Qatar | Saudi Arabia | Senegal | Serbia | South Korea | Spain | Switzerland | Tunisia | Uruguay | USA | Wales
What are the latest odds?
Think Lionel Messi will win the Golden Boot in Qatar? Find the latest top scorer odds here
Argentina are currently a best price of 10/11 to win the World Cup.