Published: July 16, 2026 at 1:50 pm
Argentina produced another trademark late comeback to edge England 2-1 at Atlanta Stadium, booking their place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 final, where they will meet Spain in a blockbuster title clash.
With victory over England, Argentina booked their seventh FIFA World Cup final appearance, drawing level with Brazil. Only Germany have reached the final more often. There were seven players aged 32+ among the 22 starters, representing the most in a World Cup semifinal. The previous high was six in 2006 when France played Portugal.
From the ‘Hand of God’ to the ‘Feet of Messi’, Argentina blessed with 2 incomparable genius
The opening 45 minutes offered plenty of intensity but very little goalmouth action, as both sides cancelled each other out in a tense tactical battle. England’s closest opportunity came in the 33rd minute when John Stones headed narrowly wide from a Declan Rice free-kick. In fact, the two teams combined for an expected goals (xG) of just 0.08 in the first half — the lowest ever recorded in the opening half of a FIFA World Cup knockout match since records began in 1966.
Argentina were content to sit deep before the break, wary of England’s pace in attack, and looked to hurt their opponents on the counter whenever opportunities arose.
Antony Gordon arrived at the perfect moment and guide his finish beyond Emiliano Martínez to give England a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute. Pics: FIFA
England finally found the breakthrough 10 minutes into the second half. Harry Kane dropped deep to initiate the move before Morgan Rogers delivered a sensational cross into the box, allowing Anthony Gordon to arrive at the perfect moment and guide his finish beyond Emiliano Martínez to give England a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute.
Argentina’s tactical shift
The goal forced Argentina into a tactical shift as Lionel Scaloni’s side pushed higher in search of an equaliser, while England retreated into a compact defensive shape, determined to protect their slender advantage.
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Their resistance was eventually broken in the 85th minute when Enzo Fernández produced a moment of brilliance, curling a superb strike from 25 yards into the bottom-left corner after Jordan Pickford had denied him moments earlier. Lionel Messi was once again at the heart of the move, with VAR confirming the Argentine captain was onside before providing the assist. The contribution extended Messi’s remarkable record to 11 consecutive World Cup appearances with either a goal or an assist, the longest such run by any player since 1966.
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Sensing momentum had shifted, Scaloni introduced fresh attacking legs, with Rodrigo De Paul and Lautaro Martínez immediately injecting energy into Argentina’s attack.
The decisive moment arrived deep into stoppage time. After Alexis Mac Allister rattled the post, Messi reacted quickest to collect the loose ball before floating a sublime cross into the six-yard box, where substitute Lautaro Martínez powered home a header in the 90+2nd minute to complete yet another dramatic Argentina comeback.
In the 85th minute when Enzo Fernández produced a moment of brilliance, curling a superb strike from 25 yards into the bottom-left corner after Jordan Pickford had denied him moments earlier
Matchwinner Martínez has now scored after coming on as a substitute in the quarterfinals and semifinals. “I dreamed it (the goal), I swear. I told Alexis (Mac Allister) that I was going to score. I told him. I told Facu Medina on the bench that I was going to come on and I was going to win it. And it fell to me. Enzo scored a great goal too, and now that I’m calmer, I can tell you this team keeps showing what it’s made of. (England) got tired. They pressed for 60 minutes. After that they had nothing left … then they dropped back, and that gave us more calm when it came to moving the ball. We made the pitch wide and in the end we got the two goals, and after three and a half years we’re back playing a World Cup final,” said Lautaro Martinez.
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Messi’s second assist of the night also meant he has now either scored or assisted in each of his last 13 matches for club and country, contributing 14 goals and 11 assists during that run.
At 39 years and 21 days old, Messi became the oldest outfield player to make an appearance in a World Cup semi-final beating previous record holders Fritz Walter and Gunnar Gren who were both 37 years and 236 days old when playing against each other for West Germany and Sweden respectively in 1958.
Argentina’s victory was thoroughly deserved, finishing with an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.84 from 15 attempts compared to England’s 0.53 from just five shots. The defending champions now head to the World Cup final at New York New Jersey Stadium, where Messi and Argentina will face Spain in a mouth-watering showdown that will also mark the first World Cup meeting between Messi and Lamine Yamal.
Leading from the front: Lionel Messi had a hand in both the goals scored by Argentina
“No words, no words. A joy for our country, for our people. The other day, I said this group never stops surprising me. And I’ll tell you the truth, we’re going to try to win, we’re going to leave everything out there, but after this it’s very difficult to get people to understand what these players are showing. It’s incredible. We are unique, truly, and it’s not arrogance, it’s from the heart. We are unique. These people today carried us to win the match, so I’m grateful,” said Lionel Scaloni.
We’re disappointed, says Tuchel
England’s impressive campaign comes to a heartbreaking end, with the Three Lions set to take on France in the third-place playoff in Miami. With his 121st appearance for England, Harry Kane became the outfield player with the most international outings for the Three Lions.
“We’re disappointed, we were so close but we got too passive after we scored and conceded a lot of chances. We could not turn the ball possession around and then conceded so many crosses, chances and shots. We were close but couldn’t keep the level up after we scored … I did also offensive substitutions in the last games, we just tried to help the players. We conceded [a chance] straight away and we decided to go to a back five because the gaps were far too open. They won every header, they kept crossing and crossing so we went to a back five to close the gaps inside and be strong in the air. Straight after our goal, without any substitutions, we conceded way too many crosses and way too many chances so we tried to help.
“Of course, we wanted to go for the second goal but I did not have the feeling that offensive substitutions would help. We stayed in our 4-4-2 but we became passive, more and more passive. We couldn’t win any balls, we couldn’t keep the ball so I think it was not a structural problem, we changed nothing. But the match changed completely,” England coach Thomas Tuchel told BBC.
