The streets of the Argentine capital Buenos Aires were filled with thousands of people with blue and white flags last night as they watched Lionel Messi lead his team to a 3-0 victory over Croatia and reach the final of the World Cup in Qatar.
Crowds of people gathered around the center of the capital, where Messi gave the South American team the lead by scoring an early penalty before Julián Alvarez scored two more goals.
The victory took Argentina to the final match the following Sunday against either France or Morocco as the team came close to their first world title since the late Diego Maradona led the country to the tournament in 1986.
“I’m excited because the final is the best,” said Mauricio Gassandria, a fan who celebrated with the crowd in Buenos Aires. We couldn’t hope for more. Feels great Argentinian. Just look around.
Fans set up bus stops, street lights and statues to celebrate with drums and trumpets.
“It’s amazing, it’s a great joy,” said one fan, who identified himself as Angelis. For all Argentines, this experience is unique and inexplicable.
Sunday’s final will likely be Messi’s last chance to win the World Cup.
The 35-year-old has won titles and championships with clubs, but his international success has been limited to the 2021 America’s Cup.
Messi came close to winning the 2014 World Cup, but Argentina lost 1-0 to Germany after extra time.
“We’ve been waiting a long time for this to happen again,” said Martin Duarte, a fan wearing an Argentine jersey. We mourned for years the defeat in the final, but here we are again in a new final. I’m happy and excited.”
