Argentina Do It Again! Late Enzo & Lautaro Strikes Send Messi’s Side Past England Into World Cup Final
Lionel Messi orchestrated yet another dramatic Argentina turnaround, setting up two second-half goals as the world champions overturned an early England lead to win 2-1 and book their spot in the World Cup final.
Argentina will now defend their title against Spain at New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday, after Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez struck late to cancel out Anthony Gordon’s opener for England.
A Slow Burn Before the Storm
The opening stages were scrappy and tight, with both sides struggling to find rhythm. John Stones came closest for England early on, heading just wide from a Declan Rice set piece, while at the other end Fernandez nearly punished a blocked Messi effort, forcing Jordan Pickford into a nervy moment.
Argentina came out sharper after the break. Julian Alvarez gave Djed Spence trouble down the flank, twice going close, first denied by a well-placed Pickford save, then seeing a follow-up effort deflect just wide.
Ntheless, it was England who broke the deadlock. A composed build-up featuring an acrobatic clearance from Lisandro Martinez fell to Rice, who found Morgan Rogers, and his inviting cross was finished off clinically by Gordon in the 55th minute.
Argentina kept pushing. Spence produced a crucial last-ditch challenge to stop Giuliano Simeone, while Pickford reacted sharply to deny a glancing header from Nico Gonzalez. Alexis Mac Allister then rattled the inside of the post with a header from a beautifully placed Rodrigo De Paul cross, before Gonzalez saw another chance drift narrowly wide.
Messi Turns The Game
With time running out, Fernandez, after having a previous effort tipped over, curled a superb strike into the far corner following a pinpoint assist from Messi, leveling the score with five minutes of normal time remaining.
The comeback was completed just seven minutes later. Mac Allister’s low shot cannoned back off the post, and Messi pounced on the loose ball, whipping in another dangerous cross that Lautaro Martinez met unmarked, powering a header home to seal Argentina’s place in the final.
A Story of Statistics and Heartbreak
The first half was one of the most action-starved in World Cup history: nineteen fouls were committed without a single shot on target, marking the most foul-heavy scoreless half of the tournament so far. It was also the first World Cup match on record since 1966 without a shot in the opening 30 minutes, with combined first-half expected goals sitting at just 0.08, the lowest recorded first-half tally at this stage of a World Cup knockout match.
Gordon’s impact continued a hot streak, having now been directly responsible for six goals across his last seven England appearances, a sharp rise from just two involvements over his first eighteen caps.
Messi, meanwhile, extended his own historic streak, having now scored or assisted in eleven straight World Cup appearances, the longest such run on record since 1966. His two assists in this match bring his career World Cup final-stage assist tally to twelve, ten of which have come specifically in knockout matches, a mark no other player on record comes close to matching.
For England, it was a cruelly familiar ending. This marks the second time this century they’ve taken an early lead in a World Cup semi-final only to fall short, echoing their 2018 extra-time defeat to Croatia under similar circumstances.
Lineups
England: Pickford, Stones, Rice, Anderson, James, Guehi, Rogers, Spence, Gordon, Bellingham, Kane Subs: Henderson, Burn, Toney, D. Henderson, Watkins, Chalobah, Rashford, Ngoyo, Eze, Saka, Madueke, Trafford, Mainoo, O’Reilly
Argentina: Messi, E. Martinez, Tagliafico, Paredes, Molina, Romero, Mac Allister, L. Martinez, Alvarez, Enzo, Simeone Subs: Otamendi, Rulli, De Paul, Musso, Lo Celso, Palacios, Lautaro, Montiel, Senesi, N. Gonzalez, Medina, Almada, López, Barco, Paz