Lautaro Martínez seals late Argentina comeback over England, reaches World Cup final

Lautaro Martínez headed Argentina into the World Cup final with a stoppage-time winner, finishing a 2-1 comeback over England at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Inter de Milan striker entered as a substitute and delivered the decisive touch after Argentina had trailed for most of the match on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.

The semifinal was tight from the start, and neither side managed a shot in the opening 30 minutes, a stretch NBC News noted had not been seen since the 1966 World Cup. England broke through first when Anthony Gordon scored in the 55th minute, forcing Argentina into the kind of late chase that tests a knockout team’s nerve, depth and timing.

Argentina answered in the 85th minute when Enzo Fernández equalized, and Lionel Messi supplied the cross on the goal. The equalizer changed the match instantly. England had spent nearly half the game protecting its lead, but once Fernández levelled the score, the tempo shifted and Argentina found the seams that open only when a knockout game starts to unravel.

Martínez then turned that opening into the winner. Messi delivered again, Martínez got on the end of the cross in stoppage time, and Argentina completed the turnaround with a goal that captured the team’s late-match edge. The finish also underlined the value of a deep bench: Martínez did not start, but his entrance changed the game when Argentina needed a final push.

The result sent Argentina to its second consecutive World Cup final and kept its title defense alive. It also reinforced why elite teams are so dangerous after an equalizer in a knockout match: one moment of pressure can flip the structure of the game, and Argentina used that chaos to strike twice in the final minutes. Against England, Martínez’s header was more than the winning goal. It was the last proof that Argentina could still find a decisive answer when the match had already reached its most volatile point.