Croatia

ROTTERDAM - Serial winner Dani Carvajal converted the decisive spot-kick to hand Spain a first title in more than a decade as they edged Croatia 5-4 in a penalty shootout to win the Nations League in Rotterdam on Sunday.

The 31-year-old, who has won five Champions League titles with Real Madrid, calmly chipped home Spain’s sixth kick of the shootout as they claimed their first silverware since the 2012 European Championship.

ROTTERDAM — Croatia scored twice in extra time to beat the Netherlands 4-2 in their Nations League semifinal in Rotterdam on Wednesday and advance to Sunday’s decider.

Croatia will play either Italy or Spain, who face off in the second semifinal in Enschede on Thursday, for a first major title as they continued their form from last year’s World Cup in Qatar, where they finished third.

Netflix has been killing it already this year with a collection of celebrated sports shows that take you behind-the-scenes to a degree that few other projects have ever been able to. Much of that stems from the success of Formula 1: Drive to Survive, which has given birth to an entire generation of American F1 fans as the docuseries releases its fifth season.

With this year's World Cup being held in the middle of the European soccer season, many questioned the impact it would have on the players’ clubs. While there have been some high-profile injuries, there've also been some players who've written their names among the stars. 

For their clubs, this break has helped star players gain global recognition and grow their values ahead of the January transfer window. Whether they cash in and sell high or keep their players, the World Cup has absolutely helped some clubs more than others. 

Lionel Messi showed the world once again that he’s in arguably the best form of his career. Aging like a fine wine, Messi got a goal and an assist vs. Croatia in Argentina’s 3-0 World Cup semifinal victory on Tuesday.

His goal came from the penalty spot in the 34th minute, but the assist. Oh, that glorious assist. That one came in the 69th minute.

Messi assist vs Croatia

Leading 2-0, Messi and Julián Álvarez put the nail in the coffin with about 20 minutes to go. The 35-year-old maestro looked like he was a young 20-something again with a dazzling run.

Lionel Messi's recent World Cup past has been synonymous with infamous performances from Argentina's strikers. 

In the 2014 final, Gonzalo Higuaín was Argentina's worst player, slicing a glorious opportunity wide and failing to check his run on an offside goal. In 2018, Sergio Agüero fought with manager Jorge Sampaoli and got dropped.