Lionel Messi played a pivotal role in inspiring Argentina to a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory over England, securing their spot in a second consecutive FIFA World Cup final. The defending champions trailed until the 85th minute in Atlanta after Anthony Gordon opened the scoring for England.
While Messi did not score himself, he provided the assist for Enzo Fernandez's equalizer and delivered the cross for Lautaro Martinez to head in the winning goal. This victory means Argentina has never lost a World Cup semi-final and will now compete in their third final overall, with Messi appearing in his second in a row.
Messi, 39, expressed the special feeling of the win, stating, "I think the squad could feel it and this was a game the Argentine people really wanted to win, and so did we." He faced England for the first time in his career and, though he did not replicate Diego Maradona's two goals from the 1986 quarter-final against England, his two assists were decisive.
Argentina is aiming to become the first team to retain the World Cup since Brazil in 1962. Messi, the only remaining player from the 2014 final loss to Germany, is set to become only the second player, after Cafu, to appear in three World Cup finals.
"It is crazy to be playing in back-to-back finals," Messi commented. The team had previously staged a late comeback to defeat Egypt 3-2 in the same stadium during the last 16. Messi, who has now played a record 33 World Cup games across six tournaments, added, "Once again we managed to do the job when things were looking bad. We never stopped believing."
England captain Harry Kane acknowledged Messi's impact, saying, "I felt like for large parts of the game, we dealt with him really well. But as always with the most dangerous players in the world, when they have the ball in the final third, they can create something." He concluded, "He's done that again today. He's obviously one of the best players ever for a reason."
The article suggests that if Argentina successfully defends their title against Spain in Sunday's final, Messi could solidify his claim as the greatest player of all time, surpassing the achievements of Pele and Maradona, who each played in only two World Cup finals and won the trophy once.
Messi is also the World Cup's all-time leading scorer with 21 goals, though Kylian Mbappe is close behind. The report notes that Messi could have retired after the 2022 final victory but appears to have strategically prepared for this tournament by playing for Inter Miami. Unlike Cristiano Ronaldo's continued presence with Portugal, Messi remains highly influential for Argentina.
England coach Thomas Tuchel described Messi as, "just the leader and key player in any team in which he plays." The upcoming final against Spain holds personal significance for Messi, who moved to Barcelona at 13 and lived in Spain for two decades. Despite his Spanish connections, Messi is focused on preventing Spain from winning the World Cup.
But he will settle for the two assists, and he has already emulated his legendary predecessor by winning the trophy four years ago in Qatar.
For long spells on Wednesday his influence was limited, but that has often been the way with Messi and he was still able to drag his team to victory.
