- Holders chase third final in four tournaments
- Three Lions eye first final since 1966
England will seek to end Lionel Messi’s quest for successive FIFA World Cup titles when the Three Lions face defending champions Argentina in Wednesday’s semi-final in Atlanta. The high-stakes encounter will mark the first meeting between the two nations since the 2002 World Cup.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has played down the significance of the historic rivalry, insisting the semi-final remains “just a football match.” Speaking after his side’s 3-1 quarter-final victory over Switzerland, Scaloni urged focus on the game rather than the occasion.
An England side inspired by Jude Bellingham’s outstanding performances in the knockout stage will take on Messi’s Argentina at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the reigning champions delivered one of the tournament’s standout displays. The clash will also be a landmark occasion for Messi, who is set to face England for the first time in his international career, which began with his senior debut in 2005.
England, one victory from their first final appearance since lifting the trophy in 1966, have needed late comebacks in each of their last three matches — beating DR Congo 2-1 through two Harry Kane goals, edging past 10-man opponents in a 3-2 win over Mexico built on a Bellingham brace, and overcoming Norway 2-1 in extra time in Miami at the weekend, with Bellingham again scoring twice.
Argentina’s route has been no less turbulent. Scaloni’s side needed extra time to beat Cape Verde 3-2, a late comeback to see off Egypt 3-2, and extra time again to defeat 10-man Switzerland 3-1 — a result that ended Messi’s run of scoring in nine consecutive World Cup appearances but stretched Argentina’s unbeaten run at the finals to 12 matches, dating back to their 2022 group-stage defeat to Saudi Arabia.
Messi said his squad’s hunger showed no sign of fading, calling their return to the semi-finals a rare feat given all they had already won together.
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The 39-year-old — who has scored 21 World Cup goals from a tournament-record 32 appearances, one more than France’s Kylian Mbappe — added that facing England carried particular significance given the stature of the opposition.
England Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford cautioned against a one-dimensional approach to containing Messi, saying his side could not afford to focus solely on nullifying the Argentine, given the broader strengths Argentina possess.
Keen observers believe age may yet prove a factor in this winner-take-all encounter.
Argentina’s starting line-up against Switzerland averaged over 30 years old, compared with 26.6 for England’s against Norway. England also carry a fitness doubt over Declan Rice, who has been managing an illness in the build-up.
A win would move Argentina to the brink of becoming the first nation to retain the World Cup since Brazil in 1962, and give Messi a third final in four World Cups — matching the feat of Brazilian great Cafu, though one shy of Diego Maradona’s two-final tally with Argentina.
England Defender Nico O’Reilly, likely to face Messi directly if selected at left-back, described the prospect of facing the Argentine as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, calling him the best player to have played the game.
The teams last met in a November 2005 friendly, won 3-2 by England with a Michael Owen brace — a game Messi, then 18 and recently capped, did not play in after being suspended following a red card on his international debut against Hungary three months earlier.
