Messi and Alvarez give Argentina 2-0 halftime lead over Croatia

LUSAIL, Qatar : Lionel Messi scored from the spot before Julian Alvarez grabbed another with a fantastic solo run to give Argentina a 2-0 lead over Croatia at halftime in the first World Cup semi-final on Tuesday.

Argentina won the penalty in the 32nd minute when goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic tried to deny Alvarez, who was through on goal, bringing down the Manchester City forward and getting booked in the process.

Messi stepped up and made no mistake, firing the spot kick into the top corner for his 11th goal in World Cups, the most by any Argentina player in the tournament's history.

Five minutes later, Alvarez picked up the ball near the half line from a Messi pass and went on a magical run through the Croatian defence, going past three defenders and enjoying some lucky rebounds before stabbing the ball past Livakovic for 2-0.