Tag Archives: Croatia

Lionel Messi Becomes Argentina’s All-Time Leading World Cup Goal Scorer

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Lionel Messi is in company all his own…

The 35-year-old Argentine futbol star has become Argentina‘s all-time leading goal scorer, after scoring a penalty in the first half of Tuesday’s 3-0 victory in the semifinal against Croatia at this year’s FIFA World Cup.

Lionel MessiMessi overtook Gabriel Batistuta‘s previous record of 10 goals, which he scored at the 1994, 1998 and 2002 World Cups.

Messi put Argentina ahead in the 34th minute from the penalty spot following a foul on Julian Alvarez by Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.

Messi’s 11 goals also tie him for sixth for most goals in the history of the men’s World Cup, with Sandor Kocsis and Jürgen Klinsmann. Only Miroslav Klose (16), Brazil’s Ronaldo (15), Gerd Muller (14), Just Fontaine (13) and Pele (12) are now ahead of him.

He is the oldest man to score five goals at a single World Cup and level with France’s Kylian Mbappe in the race for the Golden Boot.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward’s opener in Argentina’s 2-1 win over Australia in the round of 16 meant he surpassed Diego Maradona and Guillermo Stabile‘s World Cup goal tally of eight.

He then equalled Batistuta’s mark of 10 when he scored from the penalty spot in his side’s fiery quarterfinal encounter with the Netherlands, which Argentina eventually won on penalties after a stirring Dutch fightback for a 2-2 draw.

In the match against Croatia, Messi also tied the record for most appearances at the World Cup when he played for the 25th time for Argentina at soccer’s biggest tournament.

Lothar Matthaus of Germany previously held the record outright. Messi is playing in his fifth World Cup and he will have a chance to break the record in Sunday’s final.

Messi’s first World Cup goal came on his debut in 2006, as he scored after being substituted on to help his side to a 6-0 victory over Serbia and Montenegro.

Four years later, Messi failed to score in the entirety of the World Cup tournament in South Africa as an Argentina side managed by Maradona reached the quarterfinals but lost 4-0 against Germany.

The forward enjoyed a more fruitful 2014 tournament, scoring four times in Argentina’s first three games as he helped them to the final — where they were again beaten by Germany.

Messi scored just once at the 2018 World Cup but has netted four times in his side’s five matches at the tournament in Qatar this year.

Messi is Argentina’s all-time top scorer with 94 goals in 169 appearances for the national team since making his debut in 2005. Batistuta scored 54 times in 78 matches for Argentina.

Julian Alvarez Scores Two Goals to Lead Argentina into the World Cup Final

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Julian Alvarez pulled a double in Argentina’s win to help his team reach the World Cup final…

The 22-year-old Argentine professional futbolista scored twice and also set up Messi’s penalty-kick goal in Argentina’s commanding 3-0 win over Croatia to advance to the final. They will face the winner of Wednesday’s other semifinal between France and Morocco.

Julian Alvarez“We deserved this, we played a great match today,” Alvarez said after the game. “We’re at the final. We want it. … We are very happy with what we achieved, and we want more.”

In the 32nd minute, Alvarez made a darting run between Croatian center backs Dejan Lovren and Josko Gvardiol, and latched onto a defense-splitting pass over the top from 21-year-old midfielder Enzo Fernandez. As he attempted to chip it over Croatia’s Dominik Livakovic, the goalie fouled Alvarez and Argentina was awarded a penalty. Lionel Messi promptly converted for a 1-0 lead.

Alvarez then led the charge as Argentina blitzed the Croatians, suffocating their opponents as they looked for a second goal. In the 39th minute, Alvarez collected the ball inside his own half and dribbled unchallenged all the way into the Croatian box. After a brief deflection, the ball ricocheted back to Alvarez, who volleyed it past Livakovic for a 2-0 lead.

“It was a nice goal,” Alvarez told reporters after the match. “I don’t usually run with the ball a lot but the situation presented itself.”

For his second goal, Alvarez let Messi do all the hard work instead, tapping in Messi’s jaw-dropping individual run and assist. Messi spun defender Josko Gvardiol around before dribbling by him and squaring the ball for Alvarez, who was waiting for the pass in front of the goal.

Fernandez controlled the middle of the field, helping Argentina pin Croatia deep in its own half and continue to mount pressure on its defense. It’s the first World Cup for both Alvarez and Fernandez. Neither made their Argentinian debut before last year.

“The match from Julian was excellent, not only because he scored two goals, but because he helped our midfielders,” Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni said. ”He showcased an excellent game for his age.”

In his first season with English Premier League superpower Manchester City, Alvarez has scored three goals in three starts and 12 appearances. The club bought Alvarez last summer from Argentinian side Club River Plate for 14 million pounds, fending off stiff competition for the prized talent.

The goals marked Alvarez’s third and fourth of the tournament. He previously scored in Argentina’s wins over Poland and Australia as he muscled his way into the starting lineup over longtime mainstay Angel Di Maria.

“I said that boy is going to be a superstar,” Argentinian goalie Emiliano Martinez said. “And you can see that.”

Neymar Scores in Return to World Cup Play & Helps Lead Brazil Into Quarterfinals

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Neymar and his teammates have danced their way into the FIFA World Cup quarterfinals.

The 30-year-old Brazilian professional footballer scored a goal as Brazil beat South Korea 4-1 on Monday in a dazzling performance at Qatar 2022.

Neymar, Brazil, World CupNeymar, on his return from injury, made no mistake, nonchalantly strolling up and placing the ball to the goalkeeper’s left.

The goal was Neymar’s 76th for the national team, just one strike away from equaling Pelé as Brazil’s all-time top goalscorer. By scoring Neymar also became just the third Brazilian player in history after Pelé and Ronaldo to score at three different World Cups.

The team’s win was a real statement of intent from Brazil, as Tite’s side showed why it was considered the favorite to lift the trophy coming into the tournament.

Neymar, Brazil, World CupFour first-half goals from Vinicius Jr., Neymar Jr., Richarlison and Lucas Paqueta ended this match as a contest soon after it had begun, with a combination of shambolic Korean defending and brilliant Brazilian attacking play leading to the most one-sided game of this World Cup so far.

However porous the Korean defense was, the opening 45 minutes were truly a football spectacle and encapsulated everything that has made Brazil both feared and admired at the World Cup over the years.

That included some perfectly-timed choreographed dancing as Brazil celebrated each of its four goals in style, even convincing head coach Tite to join in with Richarlison’s ‘pigeon dance’ for the third goal.

The second half was little more than a procession for Brazil, as its players took their foot off the gas and began conserving their energy for the much sterner test against Croatia that lies ahead on Friday.

Seung-Ho Paik grabbed a consolation goal for Korea 15 minutes from time as his long-range strike took a deflection off Thiago Silva that helped it past Alisson into the far corner.

With the recent news that soccer great Pelé had been admitted to hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s players celebrated the win at full time with a banner paying tribute to the three-time World Cup winner.

Carreno Busta Defeats Nikola Mektic to Send Spain Into Davis Cup Quarterfinals

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Pablo Carreno Busta has helped keep Spain alive in Davis Cup play…

The 25-year-old Spanish tennis player defeated Nikola Mektic 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-4 as Spain edged depleted Croatia to reach the quarterfinals on Sunday with a 3-2 victory.

Pablo Carreno Busta

Earlier Sunday, Roberto Bautista Agut defeated Croatia’s Franko Skugor 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (6) to put Spain level at 2-2 and send the match into the deciding rubber.
Croatia won the doubles on Saturday for a surprise 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

Croatia, last year’s World Group runner-up, played with a reserve lineup as it missed its four top players — Marin Cilic, Ivo Karlovic, Borna Coric and Ivan Dodig.

Spain was without Rafael Nadal.

Spain will play Serbia in the quarterfinals which completed its 4-1 rout of Russia on Sunday.

del Potro Leads Argentina into Davis Cup Semifinals

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He’s one of Argentina’s all-time greatest tennis stars… And, now Juan Martin del Potro is leading his country back to the Davis Cup semifinals…

The 23-year-old tenista, who is currently ranked No. 10 in the world, put Argentina into its third straight Davis Cup semifinal with his three-set victory over Croatia’s Marin Cilic.

Juan Martin del Potro

Del Potro won 6-1, 6-2, 6-1, to give Argentina an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five quarterfinal.

Meanwhile, del Potro’s countryman Juan Monaco defeated Antonio Veic 6-1, 6-1 to wrap up the 4-1 victory.

Argentina will now face the Czech Republic in Buenos Aires in the semifinal on September 14-16.

Argentina, which lost last year’s final against Spain, and has been in the Davis Cup finals four times without winning.