England vs Argentina: Starting Lineups & Formation Analysis | Messi's Late Double Assist Fires the Champions to a Comeback and a Second Straight Final [World Cup 2026 Semi-Final]

2026-07-16

England
HOME
1-2
Argentina
AWAY
England: Gordon 55'
Argentina: Enzo Fernández 85' / Lautaro Martínez 92'

Note: The 39-year-old Messi delivered back-to-back assists in the 85th and 90+2nd minutes. Argentina, trailing 0-1, snatched a late comeback to reach a second consecutive final, now just one win from back-to-back titles.

Two From Messi in the Final Five Minutes: The Champions Rise From the Brink to Overhaul England and Reach a Second Straight Final

In the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final, a match that drew 68,239 fans to Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Argentina came from behind to beat England 2-1 and book a place in a second consecutive final. Anthony Gordon opened the scoring in the 55th minute, and with the clock ticking past the 85th minute Argentina were still chasing the game. But this team has its No. 10. Lionel Messi engineered Enzo Fernández's equalizer in the 85th minute, and then Lautaro Martínez's winning header in stoppage time, both crafted with his own left foot. The champions, who had pressed relentlessly with 64% possession and 14 shots, turned the match on its head in the final five minutes or so.

A Shotless Start: A Grinding, Physical First Half Ends 0-0

The opening 45 minutes were gripped by the heaviness you would expect from a World Cup semi-final. Neither side managed a shot before the drinks break in the 25th minute, and the game was decided in the midfield battle. England sealed off the center with Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice, denying Argentina the vertical line linking Messi and Julián Álvarez. The frustration showed in the ferocity of the challenges: Anderson was booked in the 37th minute and Lisandro Martínez in the 42nd, both for rough fouls. Argentina pressing, England sitting deep and repelling them—the first half stayed goalless at 0-0. Yet Argentina's pass count had already reached nearly double England's, and the war of attrition was quietly tilting toward the champions.

Gordon's Opener, But England Paid a Price

It was England who broke the deadlock. In the 55th minute, Morgan Rogers beat his man down the right and crossed, and Gordon darted in front of goal to steer it home with his right foot into the bottom-left corner. It was a strike that took one of the few chances on offer—unmistakably the mark of a Thomas Tuchel side. But once ahead, England were forced onto the back foot. Cornered, Scaloni threw on Nico González in the 64th minute, then Montiel, De Paul and Otamendi in quick succession in the 72nd, and in the 81st withdrew Tagliafico to push Lautaro up front—a full shift into a shootout. England, meanwhile, had to replace the injured Reece James with Dan Burn in the 82nd and Rice with Nico O'Reilly. Late in the game, it was the side holding the lead that lost the players who should have run the most.

The 85th and 90+2: Messi's Left Foot Decided Everything

The rally began from a corner. In the 85th minute, Messi's cutback bounced loose outside the penalty area, and the onrushing Enzo lashed it with his right foot. The low drive nestled into the bottom-left corner for the equalizer at last. Five minutes after the atmosphere in the stadium had shifted, the game was settled. In the second minute of second-half stoppage time, substitute Lautaro rose to head home Messi's cross from the left from point-blank range. The strike buried in the roof of the net gave the champions their first lead of the match. The 39-year-old Messi did not score on the day, but he had two assists. From a tournament-record oldest hat-trick in the opener onward, the captain has had a hand in a goal in every match, and even in the heaviest 90 minutes he carried his team to the final.

The Numbers Overwhelmed—Yet It Was 0-1 Until the 85th: The Champions' Fragility and Individual Quality

The numbers were one-sided: 64% possession to 36%, 14 shots (6 on target) to 6 (3 on target), 600 passes to 324, an expected goals (xG) of 1.89 to 0.60. And yet the score was 0-1 until the 85th minute, and what this match revealed was the champions' fragility—and the individual quality that ultimately overpowers that fragility. Just as they clawed back three goals from 0-2 against Egypt in the round of 16, Argentina once again turned back from the edge of the cliff. Pressing without finishing, then conceding first when the few chances against them are taken—the team that has come all the way to the summit still carrying that frailty is always, in the end, rescued by its No. 10. For England, another semi-final night was etched as a nightmare. Tuchel's side took the lead exactly as they intended, then lost the legs to see it out in the closing stages.

The Final Is Spain vs Argentina: 19-Year-Old Yamal and 39-Year-Old Messi, a 20-Year Gap Between the No. 10s

The final is on July 19 (July 20 Japan time) at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The opponents are Spain, who saw off France in the other semi-final to reach the final for the second time and the first in 16 years, since the 2010 South Africa tournament. Argentina are chasing back-to-back titles—achieving it would make them only the third team in history to defend the trophy, following Italy in 1934 and 1938 and Brazil in 1958 and 1962. The focus is the picture of two No. 10s 20 years apart—19-year-old Lamine Yamal and 39-year-old Messi—facing off at the summit. The two nations were due to contest the “Finalissima” between the European and South American champions in Doha's Lusail this March, but it was called off amid the worsening situation in the Middle East. The fixture that never happened will now be realized on the grandest stage. Their head-to-head record is even at six wins, two draws and six defeats. In their most recent friendly (2018), Spain won in a rout, 6-1.

Formations & Lineups for the Final: Spain vs Argentina →

Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Location
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Capacity
71,000

The stage for the 2026 World Cup semi-final between England and Argentina. Attendance: 68,239.

England

Formation: 4-2-3-1

England formation (4-2-3-1)

Argentina

Formation: 4-1-2-3

Argentina formation (4-1-2-3)
World Cup formations →