Reuters Sports News Summary

While all eyes were on Argentina captain Messi and his fifth bid to win the one major trophy eluding him, it was 22-year-old Alvarez who stole the show, earning the penalty before opening his own account at the end of a scintillating 50-metre run. Cricketer Flintoff's injuries not life-threatening after 'Top Gear' crash -reports Former England cricketer Andrew Flintoff has been taken to hospital after an accident during the filming of an episode of the BBC's "Top Gear" show, but his injuries were not life-threatening, British media reported on Tuesday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Soccer-Messi's World Cup dream alive as Alvarez helps Argentina cruise past Croatia into final

Lionel Messi earned a last shot at World Cup glory after his penalty and a double from Julian Alvarez helped Argentina sweep past Croatia 3-0 on Tuesday and into the final where they will face either holders France or Morocco. While all eyes were on Argentina captain Messi and his fifth bid to win the one major trophy eluding him, it was 22-year-old Alvarez who stole the show, earning the penalty before opening his own account at the end of a scintillating 50-metre run.

Cricketer Flintoff's injuries not life-threatening after 'Top Gear' crash -reports

Former England cricketer Andrew Flintoff has been taken to hospital after an accident during the filming of an episode of the BBC's "Top Gear" show, but his injuries were not life-threatening, British media reported on Tuesday. "Freddie (Flintoff) was injured in an accident at the Top Gear test track this morning - with crew medics attending the scene immediately," a BBC spokesperson told Sky News, adding they will confirm more details in due course.

Olympics-Freestyle skiing-Smith and Maier both awarded ski cross bronze, CAS says

Switzerland's Fanny Smith and Germany's Daniela Maier have both been awarded Olympic bronze medals for their performances in the women's ski cross at the Beijing 2022 Games, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced on Tuesday. Smith was relegated to fourth place after a prolonged review of the final in Zhangjiakou resulted in the International Ski Federation (FIS) jury deciding she had impeded Maier, who was promoted to the bronze medal position.

Cricket-Rafiq says he was forced to leave England after being abused for speaking out on racism

Former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq said he was "driven out" of England after speaking about his experiences last year on the racism he faced at the county club and that he still lacks support from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). Rafiq, a former captain of the England Under-19 side and of Pakistani descent, had told a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee in November 2021 he received sustained racist abuse and had contemplated suicide while at Yorkshire.

NBA-NBA renames MVP trophy after Michael Jordan

The National Basketball Association has renamed the trophy given to its regular season MVP after Michael Jordan, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. The bronze Michael Jordan Trophy is one of six renamed trophies unveiled by the NBA on Tuesday and features a player breaking out of a rock to reach for a crystal basketball that consists of 23 points, a nod to Jordan's jersey number.

Soccer-Messi praises Argentina's intelligence after Croatia win

Lionel Messi praised Argentina's intelligence after they swept aside Croatia with a no-nonsense 3-0 win to reach the World Cup final on Tuesday, having shown more guts than flair to beat the Netherlands in the previous round. Messi converted a first-half penalty before Julian Alvarez scored either side of the interval to see off an overwhelmed Croatia, who had little left in the tank after progressing through the two previous rounds on penalties.

Soccer-Argentina have worked out where to hurt Croatia - Scaloni

Argentina will trust their system when they face Croatia in the World Cup semi-finals and believe they have worked out how to hurt the 2018 runners-up, coach Lionel Scaloni said on Monday. Croatia were not the favourites to reach the last four again but they came through two penalty shootouts in a repeat of their 2018 exploits.

Cycling-Van der Poel has assault convictions quashed in Australia

Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel, who pleaded guilty to common assault of two teenaged girls before the world championship road race in September, had his convictions and fine overturned by a judge in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on appeal. The 27-year-old had been charged with two counts of common assault after a confrontation with the girls -- aged 13 and 14 -- who he said had repeatedly knocked on his door and then run away. He was convicted and fined A$1,500 ($1,014.15).

Motor racing-Vasseur joins Ferrari amid flurry of F1 boss moves

Formula One teams changed bosses in a flurry of post-season appointments on Tuesday, with Frederic Vasseur becoming Ferrari principal and Andreas Seidl moving swiftly from McLaren to replace him at Sauber. Italian Andrea Stella, who started out as an engineer at Ferrari, was named as British-based McLaren's new team principal.

Soccer-Argentina crush Croatia, Messi's dream lives on into final

The most clinical of smash-and-grabs kept Lionel Messi on track for his date with destiny and broke Croatian hearts as Argentina reached Sunday’s World Cup final with a 3-0 victory at the Lusail Stadium. Either France or Morocco will face Argentina who were fired-up and orchestrated by a majestic Messi on Tuesday. Considered by many to be the world’s best, Messi now has a chance to put behind him defeat in the 2014 World Cup final and fill the only blank on his career resume.