Lionel Messi’s Argentina lead Croatia 2-0 in first semifinal

Argentina are currently leading Croatia with 2-0 in the first semifinal stage of the 2922 World Cup taking place in Qatar.

Lionel Messi scored a penalty kick late in the first half as Argentina pulled ahead of Croatia.

It was precisely in the 34th minute. The penalty kick came about after Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livaković took down a charging Julián Álvarez in the penalty area.

Livaković got a yellow card for his rough challenge, and Messi stepped forward and powerfully put the ball in the net.

Argentina got the second with a brilliant goal by Julián Álvarez on a counterattack in the 39th minute.

Both teams required penalty kicks in dramatic quarterfinals Friday to reach this stage.

Croatia, the 2018 runner-up, scored in the 117th minute against Brazil to force the shootout, then stunned the world’s top-ranked team in the tiebreaker. Argentina, the runner-up in 2014, conceded two late goals to the Netherlands but righted itself in the shootout to advance. Follow along for live updates and highlights from the game.