Lionel Messi will go out with a bang.
The Argentinian star spurred his side to a furious late second-half rally, assisting on both his team’s goals as they secured a 2-1 win over England in the 2026 World Cup semifinal on Wednesday.
First, he fed Enzo Fernandez for a goal to knot the score at on apiece at the 85′ mark, and then set up Lautaro Martinez’s game-winning header with a cross two minutes into injury time for a 2-1 score to keep La Seleccion’s shot at a repeat alive.
Argentina will face Spain for the World Cup title.
For England, it marks the latest heartbreaking end for a squad that can’t seem to find its way back to the final since it won it all in 1966.
The Three Lions broke a goalless tie at the 55-minute mark on Anthony Gordon’s first score of the tournament, a leaping finish of a cross from Morgan Rogers, but it wasn’t enough to keep Argentina down.
England is left to face France in the third-place game, with a chance for its best finish since coming in fourth in 1990 and 2018.
