Julian Alvarez scored a wonder solo goal in the 39th minute for Argentina in the semifinal against Croatia to double the lead for his side.
He got the ball from Lionel Messi near the centre circle and charged all the way to the goal and converted the chance. Alvarez even fought a couple of defenders who tried to clear the ball but managed to retain ball.
Finally, faced against Dominik Livakovic, he fired the ball past the keeper to make the score 2-0 in Argentina’s favour.
Alvarez then added a third goal for Argentina in the 69th minute after a superb run by Lionel Messi down the right wing where he beat Josko Gvadriol.
Even for the first goal, it was Alvarez who drew the foul from Livakovic. He made a run in behind the defence off a long ball from the midfield. In a one-on-one situation, he tried to chip the ball past Livakovic and in process drew the foul.
Messi converted from the spot and scored the opener.
The 22-year-old has made a habit to be present at important moments for his team. This has led Lionel Scaloni to give him the nod ahead of senior Lautaro Martinez.
In the Round of 16, Alvarez was present at the right place at the right moment. He pounced on the mistake by custodian Mat Ryan and put the ball in the net. This too was Argentina’s second goal. Australia got one back which effectively meant that Alvarez’s goal made the difference.
With his second goal for Argentina at the World Cup against the Socceroos, the 22-year-old became the first Argentina player to score in his first two World Cup starts since Hernan Crespo in 2006.
Alvarez’s first goal in the tournament came in the group stage against Poland. There too he made a run in behind to double the lead for Argentina.
With four goals out of Argentina’s 12 at the Qatar World Cup, Alvarez has scored 33% of Argentina’s tally.
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