This has been Arnav Kholkar and thanks for joining us for this exciting match between two strong sides. Until next time! 

Captain Lionel Messi will be looking to win his nation's third and his first World Cup as they will face the winner of the second semi-final between dark horse Morocco and defending champions France. 

Luka Modric and Croatia exceeded expectations by making it to the semi-finals as the veterans bows out with an impressive showing for his country at two successive World Cups. However, they met a relentless Argentina side driven by Lionel Messi, who has led from the front so far this tournament with 5 goals and 3 assists.

FULL TIME - ARGENTINA ARE THROUGH TO THE FINAL! La Albiceleste held on to secure a 3-0 win over Croatia to reach their sixth World Cup final. 

90' +4 - Juan Foyth makes a surprising run forward but gives the ball away. Croatia carry it up the other end with speed and Lovren fires the ball off-target.

90' +2 - Manager Lionel Scaloni, his coaching staff, and Argentina's substitutes can barely keep the smiles off their faces as they know what is ahead of them!

90' - There will be 5 minutes of added time.

89' - Argentina are moving the ball forward with swagger in a relentless effort to show their dominance. However, Palacios plays it just behind Messi as the ball goes out for a throw-in. 

86' - Juan Foyth replaces Nahuel Molina.

86' - Angel Correa replaces Alexis Mac Allister. 
 

85' - OOF! Ivan Perisic does well to get to the ball following a corner and heads it into an unmarked far post area but none of his teammates are able to get to the ball as Argentina get away with one. 

83' - SMART MOVE! Argentina play a quick free-kick and the ball fell to Alexis Mac Allister, who rushed his shot and failed to hit the target from 10 yards out. 

81' - Lovro Majer replaces Luka Modric, who is given a hearty ovation by the entire stadium in what looks to be his last appearance for Croatia at World Cups. 

79' - Orsic and Perisic try to make things happen for Croatia with a couple of speculative attempts from distance which sailed comfortably wide of the target.

77' - Tagliafico and Argentina show no drop in energy as they are buoyed by a vociferous crowd who are acting like their 12th man. 

74' - Paulo Dybala replaces Julian Alvarez.

74' - Exequiel Palacios replaces Rodrigo de Paul.

73' - PERISIC! The veteran fires in a low free-kick towards the bottom-right corner but Martinez makes a good save and holds onto the ball.

72' - Marko Livaja replaces Andrej Kramaric.

70' - Argentine fans all over the stadium burst into a resounding chorus of songs as they provide the background music for the masterclass their hero Lionel Messi is putting on for them.

69' - MESSI TO ALVAREZ, GOAL!!! The diminutive Argentine dribbled past the much-bigger Josko Gvardiol, beating him with delightful body feint. He then squared the ball to Alvarez who attacked it to score his second of the night. 

68' - Cristian Romero goes into the referee's book after an unlucky slip that took him straight into Bruno Petkovic's back. 

66' - Modric breaks forward with the ball and is fouled by Alvarez right in front of Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni, who looks shocked by the referee's decision to award a free-kick. 

65' - Argentina are clearly trying to slow down the pace of the game drastically here as they look to frustrate the Croatians. The whistles from the crowd have only just begun...

62' - Lisandro Martinez replaces Leandro Paredes as La Albiceleste make a defensive change.

60' - Luka Modric is dropping between Lovren and Gvardiol as he looks to bring Croatia back into the game by pulling the strings from a deep-lying playmaker role. However, he is also one of the first to break forward. A testament to the veteran's fitness levels!

58' - SAVE!! Messi combines with Enzo Fernandez on the edge of the box before firing a low shot goalwards, which Livakovic palms away effectively. 

55' - Dejan Lovren tries to push his team forward by playing a searching long ball towards the left flank. However, he puts too much power on it as the ball overshoots Perisic. 

53' - Argentina are allowing Croatia extended spells with the ball as they sit deep. Substitutes Orsic and Vlasic will to stir the pot as they look active in the final third. 

50' - Bruno Petkovic comes on for Marcelo Brozovic, who appears to be struggling with an injury. 

49' - Foul by Tagliafico. The Argentine left-back body checks an opponent on the left flank. 

47' - Croatia are awarded a free-kick from an interesting angle on the right flank. Luka Modric delivers a teasing cross to the far post but Emi Martinez gathers the ball with ease.

46' - And we are underway for the second half of this semi-final! 

46' - Nikola Vlasic comes on for Mario Pasalic.

46' - Mislav Orsic replaces Borna Sosa.

Argentina will be licking their lips at the prospect of qualifying for their second World Cup Final in 8 years as both their forwards got on the scoresheet within minutes of each other. Lionel Messi scored the penalty Livakovic conceded to put La Albiceleste ahead before Julian Alvarez showed individual brilliance to score his team's second goal. The entire team looked happy heading into the break!

Croatia's manager Zlatko Dalic will be looking to rally his troops as they looked dejected heading into the interval two goals down despite dominating for the opening 30 minutes. Mateo Kovacic, Luka Modric, and Ivan Perisic were heavily-involved but the Vatreni failed to convert their possession into shots on goal. 
It will be interesting to see how long Dalic waits before turning to his substitutes!

HALF-TIME - The referee blows his whistle as he brings an end to an enthralling first half filled with end-to-end action. Messi was fouled by Kovacic right at the end but there wasn't enough time for the free-kick to be taken. Argentina carry a comfortable 2-0 lead over Croatia heading into the break. 

45' +2 - Lionel Messi shields the ball against Ivan Perisic, who was breathing down his neck. Messi was able to hold him off, drawing a loud cheer from the crowd with every touch of the ball.

45' - There will be 4 minutes of stoppage time added to the end of the first half.

44' - Argentina are playing with their heads held high and a spring in their step as the Vatreni look shocked after falling two goals behind despite making the better start to the game.

43' - SAVE BY LIVAKOVIC! The 'keeper spares Croatia's blushes as he makes a sharp stop to concede a corner. He does well once again to punch the resultant corner out of the danger area. 

STAT TIME - Argentina have now taken a two-goal lead in each of their last five games including this one. Alvarez has scored the second goal on three occasions. Consistent!

39' - ALVAREZZZ!!! The youngster carries the ball forward from the halfway line and gets lucky twice as two Croatian players fail to take the ball off him. It falls kindly to the 22-year-old who bundled the ball past the goalkeeper. 

36' - The stadium is echoing with loud singing from the jubilant Argentine supporters, who have flocked to the stadium in the thousands. 

34' - Livakovic receives a yellow card for conceding the penalty by fouling Alvarez. Mateo Kovacic goes into the referee's book for protesting the decision too much.

34' - LIONEL MESSI SCORES FROM THE SPOT!! Messi shows impeccable composure as he smashes the ball into the roof of the net to make it 1-0 to Argentina. La Albiceleste have the lead against the run of play!

32' - OH, NO! Penalty to Argentina. Dominik Livakovic comes charging forward as Alvarez breaks into the box and brings him down with what seemed to be the slightest of touches. 

31' - CHEEKY! Modric pulls off a nutmeg before playing the ball forward to Perisic, who attempts to chip the goalkeeper with several bodies in his way. The ball landed on the top of the net and missed by some distance.

29' - Combative play as Marcelo Brozovic combines with Kovacic and Modric to try and cut through their opponents' rigid defensive shape. They failed to retain the ball as Argentina regained possession in their defensive third.

27' - Mateo Kovacic with a brilliant tackle to take the ball off de Paul's feet as he laid it off to Andrej Kramaric, who was fouled. The referee awarded a free-kick nearly 35 yards from goal. Kovacic has made a lovely start!

25' - Nicolas Tagliafico did what he does best, making a darting run forward in an attempt to get behind the Vatreni's defense. However, Josip Juranovic did well to cut off the supply just in time. 

22' - Slick movement by Lionel Messi as he combines with his teammates but fails to play the final pass to Mac Allister, who looked offside anyway.

20' - Argentina have done well to hold their press and allow Croatia to approach the center circle before closing them down. They have won multiple duels in central areas as Julian Alvarez drops deep to help out. 

18' - Croatia burst forward with confidence but also show good patience, knowing when to commit men forward or to pass the ball backwards. However, Borna Sosa releases all the pressure after a poor attempt at crossing the ball as his effort sails into the stands.

14' - SHOUTS FOR A PENALTY! Messi breaks into the box and goes down after a challenge but the referee says nothing doing and the game goes on. 

13' - Modric cheekily steps into Alexis Mac Allister's path near the centre circle, preventing La Albiceleste from breaking forward on the counter attack. The referee awards a free-kick. 

11' - Rodrigo de Paul looks restless as he urges his teammates to press higher up the pitch when Croatia have the ball. However, Argentina continue to play the cautious game...

9' - Mateo Kovacic has made a lovely start for Croatia as he pulls the strings for his side in a playmaking role in central midfield. His combinations with Luka Modric allow them to find spaces to move the ball into the opponent's half. 

7' - CRUNCH! The first bit of aggression shown from both sides as consecutive slide tackles from either team force the referee to calm things down after the ball went out of play. 

5' - Argentina look confident on the ball as they knock it around the pitch, looking to find spaces between the Vatreni's defense. 

1' - And we are underway as Croatia are kicking from right to left, wearing their dark blue away strip. 

Both the teams are lining up for their respective national anthems as we brace ourselves for the first semi-final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Just 30 minutes until kick-off!

Argentina have made two changes as Leandro Paredes and Nicolas Tagliafico come in for Marcos Acuna and Lisandro Martinez. 

Croatia have fielded an unchanged lineup for this game. 

The lineups are out! 

Argentina XI (4-4-2): Emiliano Martinez (GK), Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Nicolas Otamendi, Nicolas Tagliafico, Rodrigo de Paul, Enzo Fernandez, Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister, Julian Alvarez, Lionel Messi (C). 

Croatia XI (4-3-3): Dominik Livakovic (GK), Josip Juranovic, Dejan Lovren, Josko Gvardiol, Borna Sosa, Luka Modric (C), Marcelo Brozovic, Mateo Kovacic, Mario Pasalic, Andrej Kramaric, Ivan Perisic.

Croatia, who have roughly 10% of the total population of Argentina, have done the unthinkable as they overturned a shaky start into a second-consecutive appearance at the World Cup semi-finals. Led by veterans Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic, they are sleeping giants that can be very efficient when on song. 

Their opponents lost to the eventual champions France in a thrilling round of 16 contest in 2018 that ended 4-3. However, Lionel Messi, who is probably appearing at his last World Cup, has a much better team alongside him this time around. La Albiceleste will be backed by thousands of supporters who have traveled to cheer them on! 

A very good evening to all the football aficionados worldwide. Today we come together for the first semi-final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup between Argentina and Croatia. This is just the third time the two teams will face off against each other at World Cups, with La Albiceleste winning 1-0 in 1998, while Croatia won 3-0 in 2018. With kick-off just under two hours away, this promises to be a mouth-watering clash.

I am Arnav Kholkar, your host for this game. Stay tuned for live updates for the confirmed lineups which will be announced shortly!