The most dominant run by a small country since Uruguay’s two World Cup titles in the first half of the 20th century came to an end at the Lusail Stadium on Tuesday when Croatia lost to Argentina.
Here is the reaction of those two nations, as well as the rest of the world.
Argentine coverage
El Clarín is in an understandably triumphant mood when he says “Go for the title of the Third World Cup”:
La Crónica creates a clever play on diminutive Lionel Messi’s nickname “La Pulga” (“The Flea”):
The Day is “dreaming big”
La Gaceta says that this is only a step towards the great dream:
La Voz headlines with a photo that has appeared in many newspapers as it celebrates the “beating down” of Croatia:
The fan is underestimated with “It’s a Feeling”:
Croatian coverage
The Jutarnji roster strikes an optimistic tone when he says “Hey, we’re going for bronze”:
It was the same message on the cover of Sportske Novosti:
Dnevnik was one of the many Croatian outlets that focused on the decisions that went against the team in the match. In their lead story, they go with Croatian coach Zlatko Dalić questioning VAR officials:
international coverage
England’s Daily Star gives Messi the Michael Jordan treatment:
Mood for independence is strong in Scotland. England’s exploits at this World Cup never made the cover of The Scotsman, but Argentina did:
In Portugal, the focus is once again on club football for the Record with Ronaldo’s rival relegated to the bottom of the page:
In France, understandably, the focus is on today’s game against Morocco:
But L’Equipe found a little space for “Messi and the Wonders”:
For La Opinión, from Los Angeles, the focus was on Messi’s assists but not on the scorers:
Italy’s Corriere dello Sport say Messi is now closing in on Diego Maradona:
Even Argentina’s rivals at River Plate in Uruguay are treating Messi with reverence:
And finally, Argentina’s victory gets the below-the-page treatment in Qatar’s English-language newspaper, The Peninsula:
