ATLANTA — The image will define this game and maybe this tournament. With the final whistle still ringing in their ears, Argentina’s players mobbed Lionel Messi near midfield, and Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez literally picked up the 37-year-old captain and carried him on his shoulders as the stadium roared.
It was the kind of moment that feels scripted except nobody could have written this finish. Argentina trailed England 1-0 with five minutes left in regulation. Five minutes later, they were heading to yet another World Cup final.
How the Game Turned
England had controlled most of the second half after Anthony Gordon finished off a Morgan Rogers-led break in the 55th minute. The Three Lions sat deep, packed the box, and dared Argentina to break them down. For 30 minutes, it looked like a winning strategy.
Then came the 85th minute. A short corner found Messi near the byline. He dropped a shoulder, found a half-yard of space, and slipped the ball to Fernandez at the top of the box. The midfielder cut back onto his left foot and ripped a shot past Jordan Pickford, who had denied him from almost the same spot seconds earlier on the same sequence. Tie game.
Argentina wasn’t done. A loose ball bounced off the crossbar and dropped to Messi, who floated a cross to the back post where substitute Lautaro Martinez rose above the England defense to head home the winner in stoppage time. That’s now 10 goals Argentina has scored after the 75th minute in this World Cup. Ten. It’s not a coincidence anymore — this team lives in the margins of matches and refuses to die.
Messi’s Night, Again
Messi assisted both goals, which puts him tied with France’s Kylian Mbappe atop the Golden Boot race with eight goals. What stands out more: Tuesday marked the first time in 205 international appearances that Messi faced England. That stat alone is wild given the history between these two football nations.
The win sends Argentina to Sunday’s final against Spain at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Win that, and Argentina becomes the first team to win back-to-back World Cups since Brazil pulled it off in 1958 and 1962. That’s 62 years. Messi would be the first player to captain two straight title runs since — well, nobody’s done it in the modern era.
What This Means for England
For England, it’s another knockout loss to their oldest rival, and it’s going to sting for a while. They had the lead, they had the gameplan, and they had Argentina on the ropes. But this Argentina team has made a habit of turning deficits into celebrations, and the Three Lions became the latest victim.
For Argentina’s fans who packed the stadium in Atlanta, the sight of Messi riding Fernandez’s shoulders will be the enduring memory. It felt like a coronation. But the real coronation comes Sunday, and one more win would make Messi a back-to-back champion at 37. That’s the kind of ending not even a scriptwriter would try.
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