Lionel Messi's Trip to World Cup Final Celebrated by Twitter as Argentina Top Croatia

Lionel Messi led Argentina to a 3-0 victory over Croatia on Tuesday, catapulting the South American champions into the World Cup final for the second time in three tournaments.

Messi began the scoring with a 34th-minute penalty after a cagey opening saw Croatia dominate possession. Goalkeeper Dominik Livaković—hero of the European side's penalty shootout wins over Japan and Brazil—was adjudged to have brought down the onrushing Julián Álvarez before Messi blasted in.

Five minutes later, Álvarez dribbled the length of the pitch before nudging the ball beyond Livaković for 2-0. The Manchester City forward was a little fortunate to see the ball bounce back to him, but the gut-busting run got the reward it deserved.

Croatia made attacking changes for the second half, but Messi and Álvarez ended any hope of a comeback with 20 minutes to go. Messi's unbelievable run sent Joško Gvardiol for a spin—the highly rated youngster unable to do anything as Leo laid on the assist for Álvarez to tap home.

Messi enters the second World Cup final of his career in what is likely his last attempt at winning the one major trophy that has eluded him. Mario Götze's injury-time winner ended Argentina's hopes in 2014, but with Messi in such rampant form, they have great momentum to get the job done.

Messi's outrageous display was vastly celebrated on Twitter as fans anticipated a showdown with either France or Morocco on Sunday.

Will it be a fairytale ending for Messi? Or is heartbreak on the horizon? One thing's for sure: Argentina have come a long way since the opening-round defeat to Saudi Arabia left them scrambling to escape the group stage.

Messi already has a legendary career wrapped up, and it's remarkable to think at 35 years old he is about to enter the biggest match of his life. Sunday's World Cup final can't come soon enough.