How Argentina reached the World Cup final

Lionel Messi is one game away from completing the ultimate fairytale. Failure with La Albiceleste had plagued his astonishing career up until not too long ago, but the little boy from Rosario is now oh so close to cementing his already unquestionable legacy.

Victory in the 2021 Copa America combined with an unforgettable triumph in Qatar will see Messi step out of Diego Maradona's imposing shadow and surely cement himself in the eyes of everybody with a bit of common sense as the greatest footballer we have and probably will ever see.

His Argentina side have embarked on quite the journey since tasting defeat to Saudi Arabia on Matchday 1 and here's a reminder of how they reached the 2022 World Cup final.

How Argentina reached the 2022 World Cup final

Argentina have followed in the footsteps of the Italia '90 iteration of La Albiceleste in that they lost their first game before going on to reach the final.

Cameroon stunned the holders at the San Siro 32 years ago, while Herve Renard's fearless Saudi Arabia completed one of the all-time shocking World Cup victories at the start of this tournament. Defeat in their group opener left Argentina's status in the competition on a knife edge before Mexico made the fateful decision of giving Messi a yard of space an hour into their Matchday 2 encounter.

Messi inspired a 2-0 triumph over El Tri before Alexis Mac Allister and Julian Alvarez got themselves on the scoresheet against Poland to send Argentina through to the knockout stages as Group C winners.

Surprise package Australia awaited them in the last 16, and the spirited Socceroos gave Lionel Scaloni's side something to think about in Argentina's 2-1 win, with Messi once again outstanding.

The Netherlands represented their toughest test in the quarter-finals but they took total control of the tie after Messi expertly teed up Nahuel Molina in the first half before the little genius converted from the spot to give his country a 2-0 lead. However, Louis van Gaal's tactical switch flummoxed Argentina as they started to sink deeper and deeper which played into the Dutch's hands.

Substitute Wout Weghorst, who partnered fellow target man Luuk de Jong up top, clawed one back for Van Gaal's side before he clinically converted an ingenious free-kick routine with the last kick of normal time to take the tie to extra time. Argentina regained control in the added period, but no goal was forthcoming so they were reliant on the brilliance of Emi Martinez to send them through.

Martinez saved two Dutch penalties early on in the shootout which allowed Lautaro Martinez to fire home the winning spot-kick.

The semi final was much more straightforward for Argentina, as a brace from Julian Alvarez and a penalty from Lionel Messi comfortably saw off Croatia.

Messi was in inspired form throughout the game - something fans will be expecting in the final on Sunday too.

Argentina's best moment at the World Cup so far

While the emotional quarter-final victory was memorable, Argentina's tournament-altering moment arrived on Matchday 2 against Mexico.

They had struggled to break down a stubborn Mexican defence in the first half and the contest seemed destined to end 0-0 before Messi received Angel Di Maria's pass 25 yards out from Guillermo Ochoa's goal in a central position.

Messi's strike was pinpoint after a couple of desperate defenders converged. The ball was always going away from Ochoa before nestling in the bottom corner. It was a vintage Messi sequence, and one that sparked Argentina's World Cup campaign into life.

Home/Argentina