Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez shine as Argentina beat Croatia to reach World Cup final

A Lionel Messi masterclass was on display at the Lusail Stadium and the legendary forward opened the scoring from the penalty spot midway through the first half, before Julian Alvarez netted either side of half time to send La Albiceleste through to their sixth World Cup final.

Argentina will face either current holders France or Morocco in Sunday's showpiece event, while 2018 runners-up Croatia bow out in the last four and will now prepare for the third-place playoff on Saturday.

Lionel Scaloni made two changes to the side that beat the Netherlands on penalties in the quarter-finals, with Leandro Paredes and Nicolas Tagliafico coming in for Lisandro Martinez and the suspended Marcos Acuna, while Croatia named an unchanged side following their shootout triumph over Brazil last Friday.

The first half-hour at the Lusail Stadium was a cagey affair but the game came to life in the 32nd minute when Alvarez ran onto a delightful route-one delivery straight through the Croatian defence before goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic took out the Argentine No.9, with referee Daniele Orsato pointing to the penalty spot.

Messi stepped up and made no mistake from 12 yards, smacking his effort into the roof of the net to put Argentina ahead and surpass Gabriel Batistuta as the nation's all-time leading scorer at the World Cup with 11 goals.

Four minutes later, Alvarez doubled Argentina's lead in remarkable fashion, picking up the ball inside his own half and driving through the heart of Croatia's defence, albeit with a large stroke of luck, before the ball kindly popped up for the 22-year-old to place a strike with the top of his right boot beyond Livakovic from close range.

Argentina came close to adding a third in the 42nd minute when an in-swinging corner was flicked on at the near post by the head of Alexis Mac Allister, but Livakovic did brilliant to react and tip the ball out for a corner.

Croatia were second best in the first half and Zlatko Dalic reacted by making three attack-minded changes within the first five minutes of the second half, with Nikola Vlasic, Mislav Orsic and Bruno Petkovic all coming on to provide a much-needed threat in the final third.

However, an inspired display from seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi took the game out of Croatia's reach, with Argentina's No.10 setting up Alvarez for their third goal in the 69th minute.

An intriguing one-on-one battle between Messi and Josko Gvardiol - arguably the world's best forward and the world brightest defensive prospect - took place down Argentina's right, but it was the former who came out on top, using his strength and trickery to weave past the 6ft 3in defender and set up Alvarez to tap home inside the six-yard box.

Alvarez, who now has four goals at the 2022 World Cup, was denied the chance to complete his hat-trick as he was replaced in the 75th minute by Paulo Dybala, who received his first run-out in Qatar.

While Messi and Alvarez were the standout stars who shone the brightest for Argentina, it was not meant to be for Croatia captain Luka Modric on his last dance for the Checkered Ones, but the 2018 Golden Ball winner departs the global stage having cemented his legacy as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation.

Argentina have now progressed to their first World Cup final since 2014 and Messi has one final shot at glory as he bids to lift the one piece of silverware that has eluded him during his remarkable career.