Lionel Messi showcased nerves of steel when he opened the scoring for Argentina in their World Cup semi-final against Croatia, converting one of the best penalties of his career to date.
The Argentinian forward blasted home from the penalty spot to give his side the lead in the 34th minute, after Julian Alvarez was fouled by the Croatian keeper Dominik Livakovic.
After this goal. Lionel Messi is now level with Kylian Mbappe in the golden boot race for the World Cup.
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The Croatian manager said in a press conference that the pressure was on Argentina and Lionel Messi.
He said: “We are playing the great Argentina, a terrific team led by Lionel Messi, they are highly-motivated but under more pressure than Croatia at this moment in time. They have more support than us and that is a handicap to us but they are under greater pressure than us.β
Dalic added: “The semi final-match against England in the last World Cup was the greatest match of all time, the game against Brazil (in the quarter-finals here) comes in second. If we win against Argentina, that would make it the greatest historical game for Croatia of all time.
βIt is one of the most important, most significant matches for us – after just four years, to repeat the success would be such an achievement on the world stage. To do it with a new national team is fantastic and I believe it is a great success.β