Lionel Messi took a photo with 12-year-old Julian Alvarez a decade ago

Lionel Messi and Julián Álvarez have Argentina one win away from lifting the World Cup.

But before they were teammates, Álvarez was just a young fan hoping to grow up to be the next Messi.

A photo of a young Álvarez and Messi has made the rounds on social media, and now the duo are linking up for huge goals for their country.

After a 3-0 win over Croatia in Tuesday's semifinal, Lionel Messi and company punched their tickets to Sunday's finale, where they will face the winner of Wednesday's semifinal match between France and Morocco.

Argentina got the scoring started after forward Julián Álvarez earned a penalty in the 31st minute after he was taken out by the Croatian goalkeeper.

Messi punched home the penalty kick with authority to give Argentina a 1-0 lead.

The goal was a special one for the country, but also for the duo of Messi and Álvarez.

Since he was young, Álvarez had been clear about two things: He wanted to play in a World Cup, and he wanted to do it with Messi.