This was his 25th World Cup match and he joins Lothar Matthäus for all-time FIFA appearances.
Messi's dream lives on as Argentina defeats Croatia to reach the Finals of FIFA worldcup
It was Messi's fifth goal of the tournament , moving him just ahead of France's Kylian Mbappé (five goals and two assists) for the tournament lead in the Golden Boot competition.
Argentina overpowers Croatia to reach World Cup final as Lionel Messi’s last dance dream remains alive
Finalists, Messi and Argentina, keep their faith intact
Led by Lionel Messi, Argentina thrash Croatia and return to a World Cup final
Argentina erupts in joy after team reaches World Cup final .
How many World Cup finals and other tournaments has Argentina played and how many did they win?
Thousands of Argentines filled the streets of central Buenos Aires with blue-and-white banners as they watched Lionel Messi lead their team to a 3-0 win .
It was only five minutes later, before the crowd had even had a chance to cool down that Julián Álvarez scored an impressive goal, taking the score to 2-0.
Thousands flood Buenos Aires streets as Argentina reach World Cup final