Argentina left yet another match right down to the wire in the 2026 FIFA World Cup against England in the semi-final after defeating them 2-1 early Thursday. The script was kind of similar to their other knockout stories—a tough-earned victory at the end of the game. What came out of the syllabus for the Three Lions, however, was Lionel Messi’s wrath. And blame English midfielder Jude Bellingham for it.
England was comfortably dominating in the first half until Bellingham decided to confront Messi in the 39th minute. And, history repeated itself—a furious Messi ripping apart the midfield, dictating the tempo, drawing players, passing sublimely and keeping his vow to carry his team across the line.
We have all seen this before. Time and again, whenever a player tried to manhandle Messi with words or tackles, the ‘Little Boy from Rosario’ transformed that physical and verbal pressure into pure magic on the pitch. He lets his feet do the talking. It’s classic Messi.
Bellingham fell for a similar trap—talking rough to Messi when a disagreement broke out among the on-field players over an uncalled foul from the referee. Argentina had 11 players on the pitch, and Bellingham could have shown his ‘muscle’ power to anybody. Just not Messi. He should have heeded what senior players have always said about the ‘Little Maestro’.
On Thursday, as Bellingham parted ways with Messi after the fiery altercation, the 39-year-old stared down at the rising kid and delivered a dismissive nod before walking away. Things changed after that. Messi switched his position and started to dictate the tempo of the match from the vintage right flank.
This was clearly visible after England took a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute. The Three Lions realigned their formation, and Thomas Tuchel’s side dropped exceptionally deep. Messi took full advantage of the vacated midfield space, dropping back to pull the strings.
The veteran stepped up his work rate, covering 8.35 km on the pitch and evading targeted English challenges and navigating a high-foul environment to keep Argentina on the front foot.
Messi’s tactical control culminated in the final minutes of regulation time, where he provided two brilliant assists—first setting up Enzo Fernandez in the 85th minute, followed by a 92nd-minute headed winner for Lautaro Martinez.
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‘Don’t wake up the beast’
Brazilian legendary left-back Marcelo had said in a podcast, “When you play against Messi, you have to be very careful not to make him angry. If you provoke him, it’s like he becomes a completely different player—‘Super Messi.’ He takes revenge with goals.”
For Marcelo, it was a ‘been there, done that’ moment. In an El Clasico in 2017 (Barcelona vs Real Madrid), Marcelo elbowed Messi, leaving the Argentine bloodied. Messi did not say a word. He just walked away. What followed was absolute mayhem in Madrid’s defence. With a gauze in his mouth, Messi scored the equaliser and netted the 92nd-minute goal for his club, ending the match 3-2 in favour of Barcelona.
In 2016, during a heated Catalan derby (Barcelona vs Espanyol) in the Copa del Rey, Espanyol defender Alvaro Gonzalez tried to get under Messi’s skin by gesturing at his height and bluntly telling him, “You are really short.” Messi didn’t get flustered; he simply smiled and fired back with, “And you are really bad.”
Right after the exchange, Messi went on to completely dismantle Espanyol’s defence, assisting both goals in a 2-0 victory to seal a 6-1 aggregate win.
In the 2022 World Cup, Argentina faced the Netherlands in the quarter-final. After Dutch manager Louis van Gaal made dismissive pre-match comments about Messi’s work rate off the ball, Messi responded with a masterclass assist and a goal, famously celebrating right in front of the Dutch bench with the “Topo Gigio” ear-cup gesture.
Another Brazilian and Real Madrid player, Casemiro, said, “I didn’t talk much to him, I didn’t shove him because I didn’t want to make him angry. I’d foul him and always apologise. You can’t stop him, it’s impossible.”
After the Argentina vs England match in the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-final, French legend Theiry Henry recalled his days when he used to train with Messi. Speaking as an analyst on FOX Sports, he issued a warning.
“He reminded us he is human; he missed some penalties,” Henry said. “Then he reminds us again he’s not human. I’ve played with him. What happens with Leo, sometimes… don’t wake up the beast. He’s just unstoppable when he goes into that mood.”
So what did you learn from your elders, Bellingham? Provoking Messi triggers an unstoppable rampage on the field. You keep trying, you keep failing.