Suarez lauds former teammate Messi for 'showing you are the best in the world'

Luis Suarez has heaped praise on his former teammate Lionel Messi after a stunning performance against Croatia in the World Cup semi final, calling him 'incredible.'

Messi gave Argentina the lead with a first half penalty on Tuesday night, but truly stole the show with a spectacular run that saw him burst into the box past a dumbfounded Josko Gvardiol and set up Julian Alvarez for his side's third.

The 3-0 win means Lionel Scaloni's men will advance to Sunday's final, where they will face either France or Morocco.

Suarez was keen to recognise Messi's achievements, the pair played together at Barcelona for six years and are believed to be close, as he said via Instagram: 'You Never get tired of showing that you are the best in the world.

'The whole world stops to applaud this guy and what he's given to football. Incredible my friend!'

By opening the scoring against Croatia, Messi overtook Gabriel Batistuta as Argentina's top scorer at World Cups. He also moved level with German legend Lothar Matthaus's record for the most games played at World Cup's finals, with 25.

Despite the milestones he had reached and the prospect of an upcoming World Cup final, Messi seemed calm after the game, as he told reporters: 'We were confident that this group was going to pull it off. We know what we are and we ask the people to believe in us.

'We have been through tough situations, other very good ones. Today, we are living something spectacular.'

The 35-year-old will not have another chance to win the World Cup after he leaves Qatar, and Sunday's game could be the crowning moment of his illustrious career.

If he emulates Argentina's other talisman Diego Maradona and wins the tournament, it will solidify him for many as the best footballer of all time.