Lionel Messi showed the dignity of the captain. He said Argentina was playing alongside him, referring to Giovanni Lo Celso, who was out of the World Cup due to injury.

Argentina won 3-0 against Croatia in the quarterfinals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar held at the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail, Qatar at 4:00 am (Korean time) on the 14th. Argentina continued its record of being undefeated in the semi-finals of the World Cup and reached the final again after 8 years.

It was a de facto ‘coronation ceremony’. Messi was involved in all three of Argentina’s goals with one goal and one assist. It started with scoring. Messi gave Argentina the lead in the 32nd minute of the first half when Julian Alvarez successfully scored a penalty kick in the process of breaking through. It was a perfect shot that was sucked into the upper right corner. In the 39th minute of the first half, he connected the ball to Alvarez with an aggressive touch, which became the starting point for an amazing dribble goal.

The highlight came in the 24th minute of the second half. Messi, who caught the ball from the right side, perfectly beat Yosco Gbardiol, the best center back of the tournament, and handed an accurate pass to Alvarez, who was rushing in, completing Argentina’s sweeping victory. It was a performance that announced that Messi is still the best player in the world. 안전놀이터

Several records were also set in this game. With 11 goals and 9 assists in his World Cup career, Messi broke both Gabriel Batistuta’s Argentina’s most goals (10 goals) and Diego Maradona’s Argentina’s most assists (9 assists). He also became the player with the most World Cup appearances (25 games), along with Lothar Matheus, and the first player to record both a goal and an assist in four World Cup games.

He also demonstrated his dignity as a captain. In a post-match interview, Messi praised the players who performed well, then mentioned the players who did not work together. “It’s beautiful to have Lo Celso and Sergio Aguero with us,” he said, thanking Lo Celso, who was frustrated at the World Cup due to injury, and ‘best friend’ Aguero, who retired due to heart disease.

There is a reason why Lo Celso is specially mentioned. Lo Celso played a key role in the World Cup qualifiers, but suffered an injury and had to leave the team for Qatar. Nonetheless, he was present in this game. After the game, he hugged Messi and thanked the fans who supported his country with the Argentine team.

Both Lo Celso and Messi did their best for each other. The anecdote of Argentine players united by close friendship shows why Argentina reached the final in this World Cup.