‘Morning Star’ Alvarez, as a partner of ‘Idol’, will he release the winner?
Argentina, a soccer powerhouse, has not been able to win a major tournament for a while, even though it has Lionel Messi (35, Paris Saint-Germain), who is compared to the “legend” Diego Maradona. In addition to Messi, top-notch strikers active in Europe’s top leagues, such as Sergio Aguero (retired), Gonzalo Higuain (Inter Miami), Mauro Icardi (Galatasaray), and Angel Di Maria (Juventus), were in the roster, but their compatibility with Messi was the best. The inability to produce results has always been cited as an Achilles heel.
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Messi met his best match. Messi and new striker Julian Alvarez (22, Manchester City), born in 2000, showed perfect harmony and led Argentina to the World Cup finals after 8 years.
Argentina won 3-0 in the semi-final against Croatia on the 14th. Croatia, which reached the semifinals in two consecutive competitions with a sticky defense, collapsed with three goals from Messi and Alvarez. On this day, Alvarez played a perfect role by scoring two goals in the penalty kick that led to the winning goal.
Messi’s original partner at the beginning of the tournament was Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan). However, as Martinez’ performance did not live up to expectations, Alvarez seized his chance in the third group match against Poland.
Alvarez, who played for Argentinian prestigious River Plate, is a prospect recruited by Manchester City in the 2022-2023 season. His height is only 170 cm, but he has excellent scoring ability, strong stamina, and strengths in linked play. Álvarez is proving why the best team, Man City, chose him at the World Cup.
Alvarez, who was at the forefront of the Argentine attack with Messi, received a pass from the half line in the 32nd minute of the first half of the day and received a foul in a one-on-one confrontation with goalkeeper Dominique Rivakovic. Messi calmly took the penalty kick.
In the 39th minute of the first half, Messi, who started a counterattack, fell and received the connected ball near the center line, and Alvarez ran about 50m to score the team’s second goal. In the 24th minute of the second half, Álvarez calmly finished Messi’s pass in the penalty box with brilliant skills that beat the defense.
Opta, a soccer statistics media outlet, reported that Alvarez, who scored multiple goals at the age of 22 years and 316 days, is the youngest player to score two or more goals in a World Cup semifinal or higher since Pele (Brazil, 17 years, 249 days) in the 1958 Swedish tournament. 토토사이트
Álvarez has already scored his fourth goal following his World Cup debut, an extra goal against Poland, and the winning goal in the Round of 16 match against Australia. With a one-goal difference between the leading scorer (5 goals) Messi and Kylian Mbappe (France), the top scorer was also in sight.
On social media that day, a picture taken with Messi by ‘Little’ Alvarez 10 years ago drew attention. When Alvarez joined Manchester City, he said, “Messi is my idol and hero. Since he was young, he has dreamed of playing in the national team with Messi.”
‘Morning Star’ Alvarez has emerged as a hope to unlock his idol Messi and his country’s earnest dream of winning the World Cup.
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