Argentina vs England
Photography by: Peter Bonilla and Gabriel Bayona Sapag
Argentina's remarkable habit of leaving it late has carried the defending champions to another World Cup final.
Lionel Scaloni's side scored twice in the closing minutes to stun England 2-1 on Wednesday night in Atlanta, with Enzo Fernández and substitute Lautaro Martínez completing a dramatic comeback that sent La Albiceleste into a showdown with Spain for the 2026 World Cup title.
For 85 minutes, England looked poised to exorcise decades of World Cup heartbreak against Argentina. Instead, another chapter was added to one of international football's greatest rivalries, this time without controversy or a "Hand of God" moment. Just Lionel Messi, whose brilliance surfaced when it mattered most.
The semifinal was tense from the opening whistle. Neither side managed a shot on target in a bruising first half dominated by defensive discipline and midfield battles, with England frustrating Messi for long stretches and limiting Argentina's usually fluid attack.
The breakthrough finally arrived 10 minutes after halftime. Morgan Rogers burst down the right and delivered a driven cross that Anthony Gordon met at the back post, steering England into a 1-0 lead and igniting hopes of the nation's first World Cup final appearance since 1966.
But protecting the advantage proved to be England's undoing.
As Argentina poured forward, Thomas Tuchel responded by reinforcing his defense, switching to a back five as England retreated deeper and deeper into its own half. The defending champions responded with relentless pressure. Jordan Pickford produced several outstanding saves, Alexis Mac Allister rattled the post with a header, and wave after wave of sky-blue attacks pinned England inside its own penalty area.
Eventually, the resistance broke.
In the 85th minute, Messi drifted into space before finding Fernández outside the area. The Chelsea midfielder unleashed a superb strike beyond Pickford to level the match and shift all of the momentum toward Argentina.
England barely had time to regroup before the decisive blow arrived.
Two minutes into stoppage time, Messi recycled another Argentine attack before delivering a perfectly weighted cross into the six-yard box. Martínez, introduced from the bench earlier in the second half, rose highest to power home the winner and spark wild celebrations among Argentina's supporters.
"I dreamed it," Martínez said afterward. "I told Alexis Mac Allister I was going to come on and win it. This team keeps showing what it's made of."
For Messi, who was named Player of the Match, the victory moves him one step closer to an extraordinary ending to his World Cup career. At 39 years old, the Argentine captain became the oldest outfield player ever to appear in a World Cup semifinal and produced two decisive assists when his country needed them most.
England, meanwhile, was left to reflect on another painful collapse after leading deep into a major knockout match. Harry Kane admitted the Three Lions became too passive after taking the lead, while Tuchel acknowledged his side struggled to withstand Argentina's sustained pressure.
Argentina now stands just one victory away from becoming the first nation to successfully defend the World Cup since Brazil in 1962. Standing in its way is European champion Spain in a blockbuster final between football's two in-form nations.
