ATLANTA — For 85 minutes on Wednesday, England could see the final. Then Lionel Messi did what he has been doing to defenses for two decades, and Argentina walked out of Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a 2-1 comeback victory and a place in Sunday’s World Cup final against Spain.
According to NBC’s match coverage, the 39-year-old captain assisted on both Argentine goals, setting up Enzo Fernandez’s equalizer in the 85th minute and then delivering the ball that Lautaro Martinez headed home in the 92nd, two minutes into stoppage time. In a tournament that has been billed as Messi’s farewell to the World Cup stage, the closing act keeps getting bigger.
England Strikes First, Then Watches It Slip Away
The semifinal in Atlanta was scoreless until the 55th minute, when Anthony Gordon put England ahead, tapping in a cross from Morgan Rogers at the end of a quick transition, as NBC reported. For half an hour, the Three Lions were on course for their first men’s World Cup final appearance on foreign soil — and a shot at their first title since 1966.
Argentina’s response arrived late but with brutal efficiency. Fernandez’s 85th-minute strike leveled the match, and before England could regroup for extra time, Martinez rose to meet Messi’s delivery in the second minute of stoppage time. It was another late-drama escape for La Albiceleste, who, according to ESPN’s match data, had already survived a 3-2 round-of-16 battle with Egypt and dispatched Switzerland 3-1 in the quarterfinals.
England manager Thomas Tuchel had spent the buildup trying to defuse the weight of one of international soccer’s most storied rivalries — the 1986 “Hand of God” match, David Beckham’s 1998 red card — telling reporters, in remarks carried by Yahoo Sports, that “history cannot score the next goal.” In the end, it wasn’t history that beat England. It was the greatest player of his era, still creating match-winning moments at 39.
A First Meeting With England, and Maybe a Last Dance
Remarkably, Wednesday marked the first time Messi had ever faced England in his career, per NBC — a quirk of two decades of near-misses between two of the sport’s proudest nations. He made the occasion his own without scoring, orchestrating the comeback from midfield and delivering the two decisive passes when Argentina needed them most.
The performance adds another chapter to a tournament that has doubled as a long goodbye. Messi, who lifted the trophy in Qatar in 2022 after losing the 2014 final, has given every indication that the 2026 edition — played across the United States, Mexico, and Canada — will be his last. Every knockout round has carried the subtext: extend the farewell, or end it.
Spain Awaits in Sunday’s Final
Now comes the heavyweight matchup the tournament deserves. Argentina will meet Spain in Sunday’s final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, after La Roja shut down France 2-0 in Tuesday’s other semifinal, as NBC noted. It is the collision fans have wanted for two years: the reigning World Cup champions against the reigning European champions, with Messi on one side and Spain’s golden generation of young stars on the other.
The stakes reach beyond one trophy. Argentina is attempting to become the first nation to win back-to-back World Cups in roughly 70 years, according to NBC — a feat last achieved by Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Spain, meanwhile, is chasing its second world title after 2010, and arrives in New Jersey having smothered France so completely that Reuters described the semifinal as an “anaconda grip.”
For England, the wait goes on. Tuchel’s side leaves the tournament having beaten Congo DR, Mexico, Norway, and more, only to fall in the cruelest way possible: leading a World Cup semifinal with five minutes of regulation to play.
Both finalists arrive with contrasting identities. Spain has conceded almost nothing in the knockout rounds, suffocating opponents with possession and a relentless press, while Argentina has made a habit of living dangerously — trailing or level deep into matches before finding a way through, often with Messi at the center of it. Styles, generations, and legacies will all collide on the same field, in front of what is expected to be one of the largest crowds ever to watch a World Cup final on American soil.
For everyone else, Sunday afternoon in New Jersey — the first daytime World Cup final in decades, as Spanish-language outlet AS noted — offers a simple, irresistible question. Does the Messi era end with one more trophy lifted into the summer sky, or does Spain start a dynasty of its own?
