Argentina rallies, shocks England to win supercharged World Cup semifinal
Just when it seemed Argentina couldn’t possibly pull off one more late-game comeback, that 39-year-old magician Lionel Messi had finally run out of game-saving tricks, they stunned England with a pair of heart-stopping goals on Wednesday to win the World Cup semifinal 2-1 and book a spot in Sunday’s final against Spain.
It will be the first-ever meeting in a World Cup final between the reigning champion of Europe and South America.
The defending champion Argentines overcame England the same way they did Cape Verde, Egypt and Switzerland in the previous three knockout games, with resilience, passion, boundless energy and belief. They dug deep and found a way to win when the odds were stacked against them. Once again, it was Messi, the trusty No. 10, who was the difference maker.
“We are truly unique, and that’s not arrogance,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said immediately after the thrilling match. “From the bottom of my heart, these players led us to victory. I’m lost for words. A joy for our country, for our people.”
The highly anticipated semifinal in Atlanta rekindled a decades-long rivalry loaded with controversy and political tension.
And the latest chapter will go down in the books as unforgettable as Argentina, trailing late in the game, scored two goals in the final seven minutes. Messi was playing against England for the first time in his career and made it a memorable performance.
He had assists on both goals, the first on Enzo Fernandez’s equalizing goal in the 85th minute and then a sublime cross onto the head of Lautaro Martinez, who knocked it past England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to break England’s hearts and send Argentine fans all over the world into a state of delirium.
The coaches of both teams, and the players, many of whom were not yet born when the teams last met 24 years ago, insisted that their focus was solely on this game, which would decide who advances to the final and who would head to Miami for the consolation third-place match Saturday against France.
They said this game was not about 1966 or the Falklands War or Maradona’s Hand of God or David Beckham’s red card or redemption. This was about two of the top four ranked teams in the world, both of which overcame tremendous adversity to reach the semis, battling for one ticket to Sunday’s final at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
At halftime, it was still anybody’s guess who would win.
England and Argentina remained deadlocked 0-0 with no shots on goal at either end. Argentina held a slight advantage in ball possession, but otherwise, it was an even game between two teams that survived dramatic roads to the semis.
England broke the stalemate and took a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute with a goal by Barcelona forward Anthony Gordon. Captain Harry Kane dropped deep and tried to pass to Morgan Rogers, but Argentina’s Lisandro Martinez cleared the ball and Declan Rice got to the loose ball and found Rogers, who then sent the cross in to Gordon, who slipped it past Argentina goalkeeper Dibu Martinez.
Argentina still trailed after 75 minutes, but Messi and his teammates were very much in the game and have shown throughout this World Cup that they cannot be counted out. Argentina had scored nine goals after the 75th minute during this tournament and added two more on Wednesday.
When it was all done, Messi and his jubilant teammates jumped up and down and sang their lungs out along with their passionate fans, who far outnumbered English fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The Three Lions were just six minutes away from making their first World Cup final since 1966. Instead, they are headed to Hard Rock Stadium for the consolation game. A dejected David Beckham, the English legend, Inter Miami co-owner and Messi’s boss, was shown on T.V. after the final whistle, incredulous at what he had just witnessed, just like everyone else who watched the match.
“Just gutted for the boys, gutted for everyone, the team, the staff, the fans,” Kane told FOX Sports on the field after the match. “We played a good game for the large majority of it. Once we went 1-0 up, we seemed to just try and hold on. At this level, it’s not enough.
“Gutted because we’ve worked so hard to be here and the lads have given every last bit of running, sweat, blood, tears, whatever it is. So to fall short like we did today ... just gutted.”
England seemed to be in command and have the edge after Gordon’s goal, but England coach Thomas Tuchel took a defensive stance midway through the second half and Argentina finally broke through. Not once, but twice. The tactic had worked against Mexico and Norway. But this was Argentina and Messi, and they found a way to get to that net, just as they did round after round in this tournament.
“We’re disappointed, we were so close but we got too passive after we scored and conceded a lot of chances,” Tuchel told the BBC after the game.
“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.”
For England, the most pressing question was how to neutralize Messi, the tournament’s all-time leading scorer with 21 goals over six World Cups. Messi and France’s Kylian Mbappe are tied with eight goals apiece in the Golden Boot race.
Tuchel made three changes to his starting lineup for Wednesday’s match, opting for Rogers instead of Noni Madueke on the right wing and defenders Reece James and Djed Spence in place of Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni made one change to his lineup, dropping Inter Miami midfielder Rodrigo De Paul and starting Giuliano Simeone in his place. Simeone is the son of former Argentine great and Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone, who provoked David Beckham’s red card during the 1998 World Cup Round of 16.
De Paul replaced Simeone at the 72-minute mark.
Tuchel said he had no regrets.
“The team gave everything and we were very, very close,” he said. “We played one of our better matches, maybe our best match. The team was tough, and we couldn’t bring it over the line.”
This story was originally published July 15, 2026 at 2:35 PM with the headline "Argentina rallies, shocks England to win supercharged World Cup semifinal."