Day 35: Messi conjures two assists as Argentina break English hearts

Some nights the tournament writes its own final act, and Day 35 was one of them. There was only one game on the card in Atlanta — the second semi-final — and for 85 minutes it was pointing towards the biggest upset of the summer. England, cautious and compact, were nursing a one-goal lead and counting down to a first World Cup final in 60 years. And then Lionel Messi decided he wasn’t finished.

Two assists in six minutes. An equaliser from distance, a header in stoppage time, and the whole thing flipped. England 1-2 Argentina, and just like that the 2026 World Cup has its final: the reigning champions of South America against the reigning champions of Europe. Argentina go to New Jersey. England go to the third-place play-off, and to a very long night of what-ifs.

England 1-2 Argentina: five minutes from history, then Messi

This was never going to be a polite occasion. England and Argentina carry six decades of World Cup baggage — Maradona in 1986, Beckham’s red card in 1998, the shadow of 1982 that never quite leaves the fixture — and the first half played out exactly as that history promised: niggly, bad-tempered and short on actual football. Elliot Anderson was booked for chopping down Messi, the benches squared up early, and the sides went in level having mustered nothing on target.

Then England found the only clean moment the first hour offered. In the 55th minute Harry Kane helped the move on, Morgan Rogers dug out a low cross from the right, and Anthony Gordon ghosted in front of Nahuel Molina to finish at the back post. 1-0. The finish line — a first final since the Wembley of 1966 — was suddenly in view.

What happened next is where England will feel the ache for years. Rather than press home the advantage, Thomas Tuchel pulled the game towards the trenches. Goalscorer Gordon was withdrawn for defender Ezri Konsa on 72 minutes and England shifted to a back five; ten minutes later Declan Rice and Reece James made way for Nico O’Reilly and Dan Burn. The message was unmistakable: protect what we have. Instead, England invited the world’s best player to come and take it. Per the site’s match data, Argentina finished with 64% of the ball, 15 shots to England’s five, six corners to one and an expected-goals edge of 1.84 to 0.53. The BBC’s Phil McNulty noted England managed just 12% possession between taking the lead and conceding the winner — a siege in all but name.

Jordan Pickford held them off for a while, clawing away a Nico González header from a Messi cross around the hour and watching Alexis Mac Allister rattle the post twice. But the pressure had a logic to it. On 85 minutes Messi slipped a pass to the edge of the box, Enzo Fernández took a touch and thrashed it past Pickford — a genuinely stunning strike, and one that had been coming. Then, with extra time looming and England unable to string two passes together, Messi curled in an inch-perfect cross and substitute Lautaro Martínez, on since the 81st minute, rose to head the winner in the second minute of stoppage time. 2-1. Bedlam in the Argentine end of the 68,239 crowd; England’s players flat on the turf.

The 18 minutes that undid England

Tuchel, to his credit, faced it head-on. “We decided to go to a back five because there were too many gaps and they were far too open,” he told BBC Sport. “We did it to close the gaps inside and be stronger in the air. We were so close, but we got too passive after we scored.” He insisted he had “no regrets,” and confirmed he will stay on to lead England into a home Euro 2028.

His captain was blunter. “Once we went 1-0 up we seemed to just try and hold on, which at this level is just not enough,” Kane told BBC Sport. “So I’m gutted.” The view from Atlanta was unforgiving: Sky’s Rob Dorsett called the defeat “to a large degree self-inflicted,” while McNulty judged it England’s most painful since ‘66. Tuchel had been recruited to be braver than Gareth Southgate, whose caution cost England two Euros finals — yet on the night it mattered most, he blinked too.

‘They never stop surprising me’

For Argentina, it was the stuff of legend. This was, remember, the same Atlanta stadium where they came from 2-0 down to knock out Egypt in the last 16, and head coach Lionel Scaloni could barely process a second escape act. “I’m speechless — it’s a joy for the group, for our people; they never stop surprising me,” he said. “We’re unique, and it’s not arrogance. It’s heart.”

At the centre of it, inevitably, was Messi — no goal, but the two passes that mattered. At 39 he had never faced England in a competitive match before Wednesday, and he made it count. “The fans wanted this victory more than any other, because of what it means to face England in a semifinal and reach another World Cup final,” he told ESPN. Match-winner Martínez, the Inter Milan striker who came off the bench to change everything, was fighting tears: “I’m going to try not to cry because I already cried a lot in there. It’s incredible what we’ve achieved.” The victory carried an edge off the pitch too — Argentina’s players unfurled a banner reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” at full-time, a political message FIFA’s rules prohibit; the governing body had not responded to ESPN’s questions by the time reports were filed.

Messi, meanwhile, becomes just the second player after Brazil’s Cafu to appear in three World Cup finals — and Argentina keep alive a dream no one has realised since Brazil in 1962: back-to-back world titles.

The final is set: Spain vs Argentina

From 48 teams and twelve groups — the group tables feel like a lifetime ago now — it comes down to two. Argentina meet Spain in the final on Sunday, 19 July at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey: the world champions against the European champions, a pairing the first 48-team World Cup probably deserved. Spain, who dismantled France 2-0 in Tuesday’s semi-final, arrive having conceded just a single goal in seven matches — the meanest defence in the tournament, and a very different examination from the one Argentina just survived. It will also be Messi’s first competitive meeting with Spain.

England, for their part, drop into the third-place play-off against France on Saturday, 18 July in Miami — the game nobody actually wants to play. New to how the closing rounds fit together in the expanded 48-team format? Our knockout-stage explainer breaks down the bracket, the third-place fixture and the road to New Jersey.

Two matches left. One of them is the biggest game in the sport. Keep the full schedule handy and follow every kick with live scores.

England 1-2 Argentina: five minutes from history, then Messi

The 18 minutes that undid England

‘They never stop surprising me’

The final is set: Spain vs Argentina

Sources