Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni was moved to tears as Lionel Messi inspired his side to reach the World Cup final.
Messi scored Argentina's opener from the penalty spot as the South Americans swept aside Croatia 3-0 in Tuesday's semi-final, with Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez adding the other two goals, the second from a sublime Messi assist.
Scaloni could be seen hugging his captain after the final whistle, and after an embrace with the No.10 he wiped away tears as the prospect of a spot in Sunday's final hit home.
Discussing whether Messi is the greatest player of all-time after the match, Scaloni said: "Sometimes it can look like we only say that as Argentineans but I don't have any doubt.
"Every time he plays it's a huge source of motivation for his teammates. There's nothing left to say about Messi, it's a privilege to have him."
On taking his side to the final, he added: "It’s difficult to put this in words. This is what I’ve always dreamed of as an Argentinean. It is emotional and our people support us in a way which is unforgettable. We are making history.
"We're celebrating because it's something very exciting, but there's still a step left. It's a time to enjoy, but we already have to think about what's to come."
Messi paid tribute to the intelligence of his teammates after the win, saying that they knew to hit Croatia on the counter-attack.
“This is a very wise squad. We know what to do in every second of the game. We knew the Croatians would have the ball possession but we knew this could be our strength," he said.
"Sometimes they are disordered when they lose the ball and they left many spaces."
On his side's win, he added: “To see these people, the family thought the World Cup was something incredible.
“And we are where we wanted to be. We started off losing but we asked the people to stay confident with us because we knew.
“This group is crazy, we did it. It makes me think of my family.
“It’s the best for me. We had tough times but we got the chance to experience something spectacular tonight.”
Argentina are in the final after an opening match defeat to Saudi Arabia, and Messi praised how they have been able to recover.
“I would say the first match was a hard blow for all of us after being unbeaten for 26 matches," he said.
"We didn’t think we would lose against Saudi Arabia so to start that way was an acid test for our squad but we have proved how strong we are.
“It has been very difficult because every game has been a final for us - there has been a mental load. But we’ve played five finals and luckily won them all. I hope we can win the sixth one.”
