Messi leads Argentina past England with late World Cup semifinal goals

Lionel Messi set up both Argentina goals in the final minutes Wednesday, and Argentina beat England 2-1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta to reach another World Cup final. Both Argentine goals came after the 85th minute, turning a match that looked headed for elimination into a place in the July 19 title game against Spain.

The result pushed Argentina back into the final four years after lifting the trophy, a run that has only strengthened Messi’s place in the country’s soccer history. Messi said after the match that the victory meant especially to Argentina’s fans, and that the atmosphere from the anthem onward, plus the significance of facing England, made the occasion emotionally charged.

For Argentina, the win also carried a rare place in World Cup record books. England had struck first, but the semifinal ended as only the second time in tournament history that a team lost after scoring first. England, which has reached only one men’s World Cup final before, in 1966, was left with another painful exit at the game’s last stage before the title match.

On the England side, Thomas Tuchel stood by his approach and said he had “no regrets” about the tactics after the defeat. Michael Owen was far less forgiving, criticizing England’s passive late-game posture and Tuchel’s decision not to ease off while Argentina chased the match.

The setting added another layer to the result. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta hosted the semifinal, and Argentina’s march into the final against Spain keeps the tournament’s biggest stage firmly in the United States for one more showcase. For Messi, the performance was another decisive chapter in a career already defined by trophies; for Argentina, it was a reminder that the program’s current era is no longer only about reaching finals, but about repeatedly returning to them.