New Delhi: A resilient Argentina — one that seems to have the zeal for a fight no matter what stage of the game — staged a remarkable comeback to edge 2-1 past a strong England at the Atlanta Stadium in the second semi-final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup early Thursday.
Coming from behind and overturning Anthony Gordon’s 55th-minute opener for England, Enzo Fernandez rifled a shot inside the net in the 85th minute, and Lautaro Martinez headed from a close distance in the stoppage time to ensure La Albiceleste’s progression into the finals of the tournament.
Lionel Messi supplied both the passes which led to the goals. A left-footed routine lateral pass to Fernandez and a sublime weaker-foot pinpoint cross to Martinez.
Messi shifting positions
For about 80 minutes of the heated semifinal, Thomas Tuchel’s tactical blueprint for England looked bulletproof. By deputing Declan Rice and the holding midfielders to track Messi through the central corridor, England effectively choked the space between their defensive and midfield lines that Messi would have exploited to run the game.
Operating in Lionel Scaloni’s 4-1-4-1 structure, Messi was initially forced to drop deep into his own half just to orchestrate ball progression. This entirely starved the Argentine maestro of any threatening touches inside the English final third in the first half.
However, after Gordon’s opener, in an attempt to insulate their lead, England gradually retreated into a defensive 5-4-1 structure, abandoning their high-intensity midfield press. This ultimately proved to be Tuchel’s and the Three Lions’ undoing, as the switch inadvertently removed the spatial compression that had limited Messi up to that point in the game.
With Argentina’s full-backs pushing aggressively high to pin England’s wing-backs to defensive positions, Messi now shifted his position laterally. Thus, rather than dropping vertically into the centre, he parked himself permanently in the right half-space and wide channel. This forced the left side of England’s defensive line into a conundrum: do they step out to confront Messi the playmaker or maintain horizontal compactness to protect the penalty box from Messi the final-third predator?
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Ripe age of 39
Messi, on his part, ruthlessly exploited this hesitation through direct carrying, completing a staggering nine successful dribbles to continually break the defensive lines of an increasingly hapless England side.
Come the 85th minute, by carrying the ball directly towards the edge of the English final third, he drew three defenders onto him, opening a wide gap outside the box. He then found an unmarked Fernandez, who exploited the lack of midfield pressure to rifle home a stunning equaliser.
Then, in stoppage time, recognising that England’s centre-backs were completely occupied by the vertical runs of Martinez and Alexis Mac Allister, the Argentine captain used his weaker right foot to deliver a pinpoint cross into the blind spot between the English centre-backs and goalkeeper, which was clinically headed into the back of the net by a leaping Martinez from a close range.
All in all, Messi capped a performance for the ages with two assists, two other big chances created, a whopping 12 duals won, apart from the nine dribbles completed — the most in the game. His exploits rightfully earned him a match rating of 8 out of 10.
As the final scoreline showed, La Albiceleste did not need a drastic overhaul to overcome England’s opener and book a place in the finals of the World Cup. All they required was holding on to and being disciplined with their shape as Tuchel’s tactical misstep led to England surrendering the game’s midfield to their most dangerous asset, who lit up football’s biggest stage, yet again, at the ripe age of 39.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)