Inspired Lionel Messi takes Argentina past Croatia and into World Cup final

Zlatko Dalic could be seen trying to smooth his hair after the second goal. What had happened? He went for broke at the start of the second half, introducing Mislav Orsic on the left and Bruno Petkovic as a second striker, switching to an old-school 4-4-2.

Croatia looked briefly more threatening, even though they were vulnerable to the counter. Messi almost got in after playing a slick one-two. The angle was too tight for him. Scaloni had seen enough just past the hour, introducing Lisandro Martínez for Leandro Paredes and changing to 3-5-2. And when Messi broke again in the 69th minute, he applied the final sprinkling of magic.