Argentina is all smiles in the first half of the World Cup semifinals against Croatia on Tuesday. After Lionel Messi scored from the penalty spot which makes him the leading goal-getter in the history of his country, Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez literally took on the entire Croatian team to score an absolute stunner, putting the Argentines up 2-0.

Take a look at both:

Absolutely world-class from Alvarez. But, you also have to wonder what the Croatians were doing to allow the City frontman to literally take the ball from the middle of the pitch all the way to the goal and score. Very poor defending. Alvarez also played a massive part in the first goal for Argentina, drawing a penalty as Dominik Livakovic took him down in the box. Messi then smashed home the PK.

Speaking of Messi, he's now tied in the Golden Boot race with Kylian Mbappe with five goals. Funny enough, there's a good chance the PSG teammates face off in the World Cup final on Sunday too if Argentina can keep this lead and France beats Morocco on Wednesday.

What a moment for Alvarez though, who is just 22 years old and was only playing for River Plate in his homeland just last season. Now, he's performing on the big stage and is the reason La Albiceleste is just 45 minutes away from competing for arguably the most illustrious trophy in sports. We'll see if he can make more of an impact in the second half. Argentina must keep its foot on the gas pedal because Croatia is capable of coming back.