Messi inspires Argentina comeback against England to set up Spain final
Lionel Messi helped Argentina come from behind to earn a 2-1 win over England to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final at the Atlanta Stadium on Wednesday night.
The defending champions produced a stunning performance in the closing moments of the game to book a second consecutive World Cup final.
Messi produced two assists for Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez with five minutes of regulation time remaining to seal an historic victory.
The first half ended goalless but England took the lead 10 minutes after the restart through Anthony Gordon.
The new Barcelona signing produced a close range finish from Morgan Rogers pinpoint cross to give England the lead.
The Three Lions defended doggedly after going ahead but they capitulated in the last five minutes of the game.
Argentina kept asking questions with chances after chances before Enzo Fernandez finally brought them back into the game with a long-range effort in the 85th minute from a Lionel Messi assist.
Messi turned provider again in the 92nd minute to assist Lautaro Martinez for the winning goal.
Argentina will now play Spain in the final on Sunday at the Miami Stadium.
Read Also: All eyes on Bellingham, Messi as England battle Argentina for final slot
Top Stats From Argentina vs England
The 2026 final between Spain and Argentina will be the first ever FIFA World Cup final between the reigning UEFA European champions, and the reigning CONMEBOL Copa America champions.
Having won their first FIFA World Cup semi-final in 1966, England have now lost each of their last three matches at this stage (1990, 2018, 2026).
10 – Including two today, Lionel Messi now has 12 assists in FIFA World Cup matches, 10 of which have come in knockout rounds. No other player on record (from 1966) has more than eight in total at the finals.
Argentina have scored five goals from outside the box at the 2026 FIFA World Cup (Lionel Messi x2, Giovani Lo Celso, Julián Alvarez, Enzo Fernández) – the joint-most on record (from 1966) by any side in a single edition.
30 – England v Argentina is the first FIFA World Cup match on record (since 1966) not to see a single shot in the first 30 minutes. Indeed, the previous record for longest wait for a shot was England’s last game against Norway (29th min).
Argentina are back-to-back World Cup finalists.
Only six reigning men’s World Cup champions have made the final the following year:
🇮🇹 🏆 1934 🏆 1938
🇧🇷 🏆 1958 🏆 1962
🇦🇷 🏆 1986 🥈 1990
🇧🇷 🏆 1994 🥈 1998
🇫🇷 🏆 2018 🥈 2022
🇦🇷 🏆 2022 ⏳ 2026
