Lionel Messi's performance was what Croatia "expected to see," according to Zlatko Dalic, as the Argentina great crushed Croatia's World Cup hopes.

Messi scored a goal and provided an assist as the Albiceleste won 3-0 on Tuesday in the semifinals, preventing Dalic's team from reaching a second straight final.

The Croatia head coach, who intends to continue leading the side until his contract expires in 2024, was not overly surprised by the PSG forward's heroics.

Luka Modric, his 37-year-old captain, is probably one of the players from this generation who won't be available by the finals in 2026, according to Dalic.

Argentina are in the #FIFAWorldCup Final! 🔥@adidasfootball | #Qatar2022

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 13, 2022

"Nothing much needs to be said about Messi's qualities," he said. "In the past 15 years, he's probably the best player in the world, and today again, he was very good and dangerous.

"He made the difference in quality for the Argentina team. He had this explosiveness and technique at a very high-level performance. It's the true Messi we expected to see.

"This is perhaps the end of this generation in World Cups, a couple of them have reached an age and the World Cup in 2026 – we have to wait and see what happens then.

"We've had great achievements for the Croatia national team, and a lot of players with a lot of potential.

"I believe this generation will finish their careers with Euro 2024. We have the Nations League finals, and it's an excellent generation that reached the semi-finals twice in a row.

"It would have been great to have won the gold medal to crown this generation."

When asked if he would remain at the helm, Dalic added: "I will continue my contract until 2024 and the European Championships and, in six months, we have the Nations League [finals].