Argentina come from behind to beat England in the dying moments (2-1) and will play the 2026 World Cup final against Spain
Argentina are in the 2026 World Cup final after a comeback for the ages. At Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the world champions were losing until the 85th minute and turned the game around (2-1) in the final five minutes. Anthony Gordon had put England ahead on 55' (assisted by Morgan Rogers), but Enzo Fernández levelled on 85' and Lautaro Martínez made it 2-1 on 90', both goals set up by a sublime Lionel Messi. The Albiceleste were vastly superior —65% possession, 15 shots to 5 and 1.80 expected goals to 0.54— and Messi, provider of two assists, was named man of the match (8.6). Argentina meet Spain, who knocked out France yesterday, in the final on 19 July (MetLife). England bow out in a semi-final once again.
Some teams die and some teams simply do not know how to give up. Argentina belong to the latter. At Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the world champions spent ninety minutes behind, running again and again into an English wall, until in the final five minutes they knocked it down all at once. Enzo Fernández on 85' and Lautaro Martínez on 90', both with Lionel Messi's signature, completed a legendary comeback (2-1) that sends the Albiceleste into the 2026 World Cup final, where Spain await.
Lionel Scaloni set Argentina up in a 4-4-2 with Emiliano Martínez in goal, a back line of Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez and Tagliafico, a midfield of Simeone, Paredes, Mac Allister and Enzo Fernández, and the Messi-Julián Álvarez pairing up top. Opposite, Thomas Tuchel went with a 4-2-3-1 with Pickford in goal, the Rice-Anderson double pivot and Bellingham just behind Harry Kane. The English plan, sitting deep and dangerous on the break, worked for a good hour.
England struck first on 55 minutes. Morgan Rogers teed up Anthony Gordon, who finished for 1-0 and silenced the Albiceleste support. The goal followed Tuchel's script: cede the ball, hold firm at the back and strike when the chance came. And Argentina, for all their control, could not find a way through a heavily packed English defence.
Because Argentina's dominance was overwhelming and the numbers scream it: 65% possession, 15 shots to 5, five on target to two and a chasm in expected goals (1.80 to 0.54). Scaloni emptied his bench —Nico González, Nico Otamendi, Montiel, De Paul among those freshening up the attack— in search of an equaliser that would not come. The clock was ticking against them and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium was beginning to smell of elimination.
Until, once more, up stepped Lionel Messi. In the 85th minute, the captain threaded a magical pass for Enzo Fernández to beat Pickford and score the 1-1 that breathed life back into Argentina. And when the game seemed destined for extra time, on 90', Messi provided again, this time for Lautaro Martínez, who bundled in the decisive 2-1 and sparked Albiceleste bedlam. Two assists from the number 10 in five minutes to turn around a semi-final that was slipping away.
England, who had touched the final with their fingertips, collapsed in stoppage time with no capacity to respond. Tuchel's men, who had struggled to get past every round, bow out again in a semi-final, that barrier they have not cleared since 1966. Argentina, by contrast, played their best football when they needed it most and settled it with their usual quality.
The man of the match was, inevitably, Lionel Messi (8.6), who without scoring provided the two decisive assists and still leads the Golden Boot race with eight goals. The Albiceleste now meet Spain in the final on 19 July at the MetLife Stadium: the world champions against the European champions, Messi against the generation of Lamine Yamal and Pedri. A dream tie to close the first 48-team World Cup.