Lionel Messi has reiterated that Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final would be his last. He had said this before the start of the World Cup, in an unsurprising declaration considering that the 35-year-old is getting closer to an age when footballers either move to obscure leagues or start coaching or switch to punditry from a television studio.

Sunday would not just be his last World Cup game. It would be his last chance of getting his hands on the World Cup, a trophy he came close to in 2014 when Argentina made it to the final only to lose to Germany. He is playing his fifth World Cup in Qatar, one of only six players to have competed in so many World Cups and on December 18, he would beat German Lothar Matthaus’ record of most number — 25 — of World Cup matches. Messi has further records to aspire to in the final, with his current 11 World Cup goals ranking joint-sixth on the all-time list behind Pele (12), among others.

Late Tuesday — or Wednesday — night’s semi-final match against Croatia was a reminder of not the inevitability of his career but contrarily, the reason why it could go on. While the best moment of brilliance was reserved for young Julián Álvarez, who had one of those Diego Maradona-like charging runs that had defenders tumbling in his wake to score Argentina’s second goal, Messi was not to be denied his place on the pedestal.

He got Argentina’s first goal, through a penalty, but the defining move was yet to come. In the 69th minute, Messi cut loose on the right, then darted in, leaving one of the tournament’s better defenders, Joško Gvardiol, befuddled. He then found the space to roll the ball over for Alvarez to score his second and the team’s commanding third goal of the semi-final.

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