Lionel Messi delivered two decisive assists in the final minutes to send Argentina into the World Cup final with a stunning 2-1 comeback victory over England on Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, breaking English hearts once again and setting up a blockbuster Sunday showpiece against Spain in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Trailing with five minutes of normal time remaining, Argentina scored twice in seven extraordinary minutes. Enzo Fernandez leveled in the 85th minute and substitute Lautaro Martinez headed the winner two minutes into stoppage time, with Messi the architect of both goals in what may be the final World Cup appearance of the greatest career the sport has ever produced.
What We Know So Far
England had frustrated Argentina for most of the match, scoring through Anthony Gordon in the 55th minute and defending with increasing determination as the clock wound down. Gordon arrived at the back post to guide a Morgan Rogers cross past goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez with his instep, sending England’s players and supporters into celebration that lasted well over half an hour before Argentina began dismantling it.
Thomas Tuchel’s tactical decision after the goal to drop deeper and absorb pressure rather than push for a second gave Argentina the territorial dominance they needed, though converting it proved elusive for long stretches. Jordan Pickford made two crucial saves to maintain England’s lead. He denied Nico Gonzalez from a Messi cross in the 69th minute and kept out an Alexis Mac Allister effort moments after the Liverpool midfielder had struck the post with another attempt, ESPN confirmed.
Argentina’s persistence finally broke through in the 85th minute. Messi found Fernandez in space at the edge of the penalty area and the midfielder drove a precise shot from 20 meters past Pickford into the corner to level the match.
The winner arrived two minutes into stoppage time. Mac Allister struck the post with a shot. Messi collected the rebound, drove down the right flank with purpose, and delivered a precise cross to the far post that Martinez, introduced as a substitute in the 81st minute, met with a decisive header from close range, Reuters confirmed.
The statistics captured England’s defensive strategy in blunt terms. England finished with 36 percent possession and produced an expected goals figure of just 0.53. The Three Lions managed five shots in total with only two on target. Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, who had combined to score 12 goals at the tournament entering Wednesday’s match, contributed a single combined shot across the entire 90 minutes, NBC confirmed.
What The Coaches And Players Are Saying
The match renewed one of international football’s deepest rivalries, and the atmosphere inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium before kickoff reflected that weight, with both sets of supporters attempting to drown out the opposing national anthem as the teams lined up.
Messi’s performance without a goal still dominated the post-match narrative. He now has 10 assists in the World Cup knockout stage across his career, at least six more than any other player in the same period dating back at least 60 years, ESPN confirmed. He has also recorded a goal or an assist in 11 consecutive World Cup matches stretching back to the 2022 tournament, the longest such streak since records of comparable depth began in 1966.
For England, the defeat was devastating in its timing and its historical context. The 1966 champions have now waited 59 years without appearing in another World Cup final. Wednesday’s exit, surrendered in the final minutes after coming so close, extends that wait further.
Why This Matters
Argentina’s victory is not simply another result. It is a confirmation that this team’s capacity for late comebacks has become one of the defining features of the 2026 World Cup, a tournament that has repeatedly produced moments where the defending champions seemed finished before finding something to reverse the outcome.
They trailed Egypt 2-0 with minutes remaining in the round of 16 and scored three times to win. They trailed England with five minutes left and scored twice to win. Each time, Messi has been central to the moments that matter most.
The statistical profile of Wednesday’s match tells the story of how Argentina win when they are not at their best. England’s decision to sacrifice possession and attacking intent after Gordon’s goal effectively invited Argentina to surround them. The expected goals figures, 0.53 for England against a higher figure for Argentina, reflected a match where the team that had the lead made a conscious choice to stop creating chances and relied instead on defensive resilience that ultimately gave way under sustained pressure.
Sunday’s final pits Argentina against Spain in what ESPN confirmed will be the first World Cup final between the reigning champions of Europe and South America, and the first occasion since FIFA rankings were introduced in 1992 that the two top-ranked teams in the world have contested the showpiece match.
Argentina will be chasing their fourth World Cup title and attempting to become only the third country to win the tournament in consecutive editions, joining Italy in 1934 and 1938 and Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Spain will be seeking their second title after winning in South Africa in 2010, a tournament in which they beat Argentina in the quarterfinals en route to the trophy.
It will be Argentina’s seventh World Cup final appearance. And at 39 years old, for Messi, every match at this tournament carries the unspoken weight of what is almost certainly his last.
What Happens Next
Argentina face Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Spain eliminated Morocco in the quarterfinals and advanced through the semifinal bracket to set up what promises to be one of the most anticipated finals in the tournament’s history.
On the individual awards front, Messi enters the final tied with Kylian Mbappe at the top of the Golden Boot standings. France’s Mbappe faces Spain in Sunday’s final on the opposing side, meaning the world’s two most decorated active players will compete in the same match for the game’s ultimate prize, adding a personal dimension to a team rivalry that already carries enormous historical weight.
For England, the journey is over and the questions begin. A talented squad that reached the final four of the World Cup will be measured against the standard of what happened when the moment came, and the answer on Wednesday was a goal defended, a deeper defensive shape that invited pressure, and two headers that shattered a dream that had been building since 1966.
ESPN/AP/Reuters/Flashscoreusa/NBC
