Sensational. Stunning. Out of this World. Those are a few of the words that could be used to describe Lionel Messi's performance as he lead Argentina into the World Cup final.

La Albiceleste beat Croatia 3-0 at the Lusail Stadium thanks to goals from Messi and Julian Alvarez. It was the nation's best performance of the tournament, as they dominated a challenging Hrvatska side. 

From start to finish, they looked composed and assured across the park, something which they had lacked earlier in the tournament. The combination of Messi and Alvarez took the limelight, but every blue and white shirt on the pitch played a key impact on the clash.

The South American nation will face the winner of France vs Morocco in the final, which could cement Messi's legacy as the greatest player of all time.

But what did we learn from the semi-final clash between Argentina and Croatia?

  • Running out of superlatives

Messi has been one of the best players in the world for almost 15 years now. But with age catching up to him, many thought he would struggle at his final World Cup. However, the "mini magician" proved his doubters wrong with yet another sensational display in Qatar.

It was Argentina's third goal which really showed his magic. Messi dazzled past Josko Gvardiol along the right flank, before laying it off to Alvarez in the box. It was one of the assists of the tournament, as he made one of the defenders of the tournament look amateur. 

It left the ITV commentary panel lost for words, with co-commentator Ally McCoist eventually saying: "That was just genius!"

Messi's first-half penalty took him to 11 World Cup goals across his career. This places him sixth on the all-time record, level with the likes of World Cup greats such as Jurgen Klinsmann, and one ahead of former Argentina forward Gabriel Batistuta.

  • Defensive solidarity makes its return

Argentina's Copa America success story last year was built off their defensive structure and dynamic. It helped them reach an unbeaten streak of 36 matches from 2019 until 2022.

For the majority of the World Cup, Argentina have lacked a solid defensive foundation to build from. Against Saudi Arabia, they looked fragile, and it was a similar story against Australia and Netherlands.

However, they looked back to their best against Croatia. Cristian Romero partnered Nicolas Otamendi at the back, whilst Nicolas Tagliafico and Nahuel Molina provided support defensively and offensively on the flanks. This led to Croatia having just two shots on target, and failing to create a single big chance.

Messi and Alvarez were the stars of the show on Tuesday evening, but the defensive hard-work from Argentina's backline provided a superb foundation to build from. It was their best performance of the tournament at the most important time. Nevertheless, they are likely to face an even bigger challenge in the final if they face expected opponents France.

  • Final third woes

Once again, Croatia have been the dark horses of the competition. In 2018, they shocked the world by reaching the final, and they very nearly repeated that this year. This is due to their defensive stars in the middle of the park, who similarly shone in 2018 as well.

Luka Modric partnered alongside Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic in the heart of the battle, and this was key to their success against Brazil. Against Argentina, they controlled the game impressively, with Zlatko Dalic's side having 61% possession across the match. 

However, all this hard-work controlling the game was undone by their ineffective attack. Andrej Kramaric lead the line, with Ivan Perisic and Mario Pasalic supporting him from either side. It provided little threat to La Albiceleste, with Croatia earning just 0.41 expected goals from open play. 

Perisic, regularly used at wing-back by Tottenham Hotspur, failed to offer the pace needed on the counter-attack, whilst Pasalic and Kramaric's partnership down the right flank felt disjointed and inefficient. If Dalic's side had Mario Mandžukić in their side like previous years, it could have been a very different semi-final.

  • Modric's fond farewell

The Real Madrid superstar has been at the heart of all success across the past decade. Since being named the worst signing in La Liga in 2013, he has taken the world by storm, and he was key to Croatia's success story in Russia four years ago.

The World Cup is one of the few trophies the midfielder has not won, and he never will after defeat to Argentina. The 37-year-old helped control the match for Croatia, but lacklustre dynamics in the final third prevented the former Spurs player from achieving his dream.

In the 81st minute, the iconic midfielder was subbed off the World Cup field for one last time. He received a standing ovation from everyone in the stadium, and was consoled by Angel Di Maria at full-time. The legendary footballer was clearly gutted to be eliminated from the World Cup, but he can hold his head high after another superb campaign.