It seemed Argentina were inspired by Rafael Nadal, the Spanish tennis icon who kept coming back when everybody wrote him off after one injury blow after another.
Showing that legendary Nadal spirit, Argentina dug deep again to beat England 2-1 in the semifinal on Wednesday to set up a final clash with Nadal’s Spain.
Having shown incredible spirit to overcome Cape Verde, Egypt and Switzerland in the previous rounds, Argentina needed to show their fighting spirit again after Anthony Gordon gave England the lead in the 55th minute.
Head coach Lionel Scaloni made several changes in the second half after England went ahead against the run of play with Gordon’s crisp finish from a counterattack.
It was one of those second-half substitutes, Lautaro Martinez, the feisty Inter Milan striker, who headed home Argentina’s winner in the 92nd minute after Enzo Fernandez had scored the equaliser with a stunning long-range effort in the 85th minute.
While England superstars Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham failed to make any real impact on the game, it was the 39-year-old Lionel Messi who was at the heart of every Argentina attack.
Following England’s goal, Argentina came in waves at the England goal as Thomas Tuchel’s team was unable to cope with the intensity of the South Americans’ pressing game in the middle of the park.
Every move pushed England further back as Alexis Mac Allister, Fernandez and the tireless Julian Alvarez tormented England with the speed of their passing in the final third.
It was the Argentina that the world saw in Qatar when they won their third World Cup after a gap of 36 years.
In North America, having arrived at the 2026 tournament with a lot of their key players carrying injuries, Argentina never looked on top of their game.
It was left to Messi to do the heavy lifting as the ageless wonder scored eight goals and provided assists to keep the Argentine dream alive of becoming the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cup titles.
On Wednesday, with England defending deep and with just five minutes of regulation time left, Messi was at it again, building a move from the right which found the Chelsea midfielder just outside the box.
Fernandez composed himself before sending a sumptuous right-footer to beat the outstretched hands of Jordan Pickford.
The England goalkeeper made a couple of outstanding saves to deny Argentina the opportunity to score the equaliser earlier in the second half.
In the end, it needed one of the best goals of the tournament to break through his defence.
Having found the equaliser, Argentina went for the kill. With delightful interplay, Scaloni’s team ran England ragged.
And then the moment came in the 92nd minute when Mac Allister hit the post with a long-range effort as Messi picked up the ball on the flank.
With dancing feet, the magician made his move before sending an inch-perfect cross to Martinez, who found the perfect header, sparking wild celebrations on the field and in the stands.
England did try to create chances in the dying minutes, but by then they had completely lost the momentum as Argentina dictated the tempo, controlled possession and remained defensively solid.
When the final whistle blew, there was joy and relief as the Argentina players joined the celebrations with their adoring fans, clapping and singing their iconic anthem.
With tackles that kept flying, it was a scrappy game at the start, but it finished with the world champions finally playing like world champions.
And Messi, playing his first-ever match against the fierce rivals, did Messi things again, popping up everywhere every time Argentina needed inspiration to break England down.
Now they are one match away — against Spain in the final on Sunday — from making history.
Source: Khaleej Times