I think Messi will lift the trophy, it’s already written: Zlatan Ibrahimovic

2 time champions Argentina have not won a World Cup since 1986 and they had reached the closest in 2014 when Messi’s Argentina lost to Germany in the final.

Momentum is building behind Messi’s push to cap his career with the biggest prize in the game. The 35-year-old Argentina playmaker has carried his team to the semifinals, almost in the same way Diego Maradona — the man with whom Messi is so often compared — led the South American nation to its second and most recent World Cup title in 1986.

Now in Argentina’s way is Croatia, a country with a population of 4 million which is establishing a reputation as the most stubborn and durable of opponents while also boasting one of soccer’s most graceful players in Luka Modric. The teams go head to head at Lusail Stadium — also the venue for Sunday’s final — in a meeting between the last two runners-up at the tournament: Argentina in 2014 and Croatia in 2018.

Argentina’s darkest time was right at the start of the tournament, after a 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in what will go down as one of the World Cup’s biggest upsets.

Inspired by Messi and one of the most fervent fan followings in Qatar, Argentina won its final two group games, ended up squeezing past Australia 2-1 in the round of 16 and then required penalties to get past the Netherlands in a wild quarterfinal match.

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