For the sixth time, the Argentine football team reached the finals of the World Cup. Perhaps easier than expected, with a convincing 3:0 score, the Gauchos defeated Croatia and are now waiting for a better one from the clash between France and Morocco. France is defending the world champion title, however, Lionel Messi seems determined to say goodbye to the national team with the only cup missing in his career. With that trophy in his hands, he would stand alongside Diego Armando Maradona and silence all those who think that the comparison between the two is inappropriate, because Messi “never won the World Cup”.Messi and Alvarez dismantle Croatia for the World Cup finalAnd the Argentinian captain is aware of this, and wants to excel in Doha. With a penalty goal against Croatia, he is now tied with Kylian Mbappe at the scorers list. Both are currently on five goals, one more than their teammates Juan Alvarez and Olivier Giroud, even thou Mbappe could surpass him tonight against Morocco (22:00). He is clearly enjoying his last World Cup and knows what is the ultimate goal.„I am enjoying this World Cup a lot. I am feeling really good and strong enough to face anything. It wasn’t easy. We were tired but we found our strength to earn the victory. We finished the game in a very good way and I feel very happy now. This squad goes beyond the collective. It’s intelligent and clever. We can read games and we know how to suffer when necessary and what to do with the ball when it’s needed. We have played excellent technical football. We know what to do in every moment of the game. We know how to win. We knew we would have to run. We knew their strengths. We knew they would have possession“ said the Argentinian captain after the game.’This was not penalty at all!’It was a long way for Argentina since the start of the tournament. The shock after an opening loss to Saudi Arabia turned other games in the group into a knockout stage, but Messi and the boys passed them all.„The first game when we lost to Saudi Arabia was hard for us because we had been unbeaten for so long. It was such a hard blow. To come back has proved how strong we are. It’s been difficult as every game has felt like a final. That’s been a heavy mental load. We have played and won five finals and I hope it’s the same in the last game. We were confident we would make it as we understand the fine details. We have grown a lot in this tournament“ said Messi.##NAJAVA_MECA_6886040##
