Lionel Messi’s Argentina has defeated England in the second semifinal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a scoreline of 2-1. With this victory, the defending champions have qualified for their second World Cup final in a row.
The Argentina vs England semifinal match promised to be a classic. And this match certainly delivered. This matchup has a lot of history behind it, be it iconic World Cup matches or an actual war between the two nations.
Argentina vs England Semifinal
England and Argentina squared off in a World Cup game for the first time in 24 years. The match started in a scrappy manner, with all the players leaving it all on the pitch right from the first minute. With the way the two teams were hounding for the ball, no side could take a proper shot at the target for the first quarter of the game.
England was clearly the better side in the first half. They managed to make inroads into the Argentine box. Meanwhile, their defensive line managed to keep the Albiceleste out.
The first half ended with a 0-0 scoreline. Lionel Messi did not even get a proper possession until the 37th minute. Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham was proving to be the best player for the Three Lions, drawing in fouls and winning free kicks in crucial areas.
The second half started with England in the driving seat. For the next few minutes, they stormed the Argentina goal on multiple occasions at this point. But the first goal came amidst a spell of Argentine attack.
In the 55th minute. Harry Kane, from his own half, sent a long pass flying to Morgan Rogers on the right flank. He then whipped the ball into the box. Anthony Gordon ran free from his marker and tapped the ball into the net, 1-0.
However, this goal signalled a shift of the tide in this game, as for the remainder of over 40 minutes of the match remaining, Argentina was going to dominate.
Lionel Messi often fell onto the right wing and lobbed the ball into the box, only for either goalkeeper Jordan Pickford or the goalpost to stop La Albiceleste from scoring.
By the 85th minute mark, Argentina had been on the attack for about half an hour. Their labour finally bore fruit when Messi played a short pass to Rodrigo de Paul, who sent the ball back to Lionel. The Barcelona legend then passed the ball to Enzo Fernández, who had taken a decent shot from outside the box a couple of minutes earlier.
He shot from outside the penalty area once again and scored this time, rocketing the ball into the back of the net, out of reach for Pickford. 1-1, the game was on with five minutes of regulation time remaining.
Nine minutes of stoppage time were displayed by the fourth referee, but Argentina needed only two to score in the 90+2nd minute. Alexis Mac Allister’s shot pinged off the post and found Messi on the right side of the box. The Argentine GOAT headed the ball towards the far post, where Lautaro Martínez met it, and the ball went into the net, 2-1 Argentina.
For the remainder of the match, while Argentina looked to see out the clock, England looked desperate. However, no more decent attempts were to be taken by the Three Lions, who ended up losing their second semifinal in three World Cups.
In the end, the stat that tells the story of the game is the number of fouls made. While Argentina committed 15 fouls in this match, England committed 11. But the referee, seeing the big occasion of this game, handed out only two yellow cards.
After a win in this England vs Argentina game, the defending champions will now face Spain in the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The match will be played in the New York New Jersey Stadium on Monday, July 20th, at 12:30 am (IST).
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