{"id":529372,"date":"2026-07-16T17:50:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T17:50:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/529372\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T17:50:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T17:50:35","slug":"messi-inspires-argentina-to-comeback-win-over-england-in-world-cup-semi-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/529372\/","title":{"rendered":"Messi inspires Argentina to comeback win over England in World Cup semi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lionel Messi sent in the cross that delivered Argentina a second consecutive World Cup final after another improbable comeback.<\/p>\n

Trailing 1-0 going into the last five minutes of regulation time, Messi fed a pinpoint ball to substitute Lautaro Martinez in the second minute of injury time to give the defending champions a 2-1 victory over England on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Messi also provided the assist to Enzo Fernandez in the 85th minute for the equalising goal.<\/p>\n

At the end of another exhausting match \u2014 another match in which Argentina was stretched to the final minutes \u2014 Messi dropped to his knees in celebration.<\/p>\n

\"Argentina<\/p>\n

Argentina fans celebrate in Auckland. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

Argentina, who will play Spain in the final on Monday (NZT) in East Rutherford, New Jersey, are now one game away from becoming the first team to win back-to-back World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.<\/p>\n

Watch the FIFA World Cup final at 7am on Monday, July 20, live and free on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+<\/a><\/p>\n

Anthony Gordon had given England the lead in the 55th minute, but the team’s other chances failed to find the back of the net.<\/p>\n

\"England<\/p>\n

England fans in Auckland celebrate Anthony Gordon’s goal against Argentina. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

Fernandez scored the equaliser with a long-range effort as Argentina pressed desperately for a goal, and Martinez headed in the winner with time running out.<\/p>\n

Argentina had to come through yet another tough match at this year’s expanded 48-team tournament after surviving scares against Cape Verde and Egypt.<\/p>\n

\"England's<\/p>\n

England’s Harry Kane (9) reacts after the World Cup semifinal match between England and Argentina in Atlanta. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

The game resumed one of the biggest rivalries in international football, and there was a raucous atmosphere in the stadium even before kickoff as both sets of fans tried to drown out each other\u2019s national anthems.<\/p>\n

That continued on the field in a first half that was repeatedly broken up by fouls.<\/p>\n

\"Argentina's<\/p>\n

Argentina’s Giuliano Simeone (17) heads the ball over England’s Elliot Anderson (8) during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between England and Argentina in Atlanta, (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Leandro Paredes went in late on Jude Bellingham early in the game. Fernandez did likewise with Elliot Anderson soon after.<\/p>\n

A tense first half ended goalless, with no clear chances, but the game opened up after the break<\/p>\n

\"Argentina<\/p>\n

Argentina players surround referee Ismail Elfath after a foul on Lionel Messi during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Semi Final match between England and Argentina. (Source: Getty)<\/p>\n

England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford denied Julian Alvarez, and Gordon found the breakthrough for England, converting a cross from Morgan Rogers.<\/p>\n

Argentina pressed. Substitute Nico Gonzalez was denied by Pickford, and Alexis Mac Allister came even closer with a header off the post.<\/p>\n

\"Argentina's<\/p>\n

Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates after teammate Lautaro Martinez scored their side’s second goal during the World Cup semifinal match between England and Argentina in Atlanta. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Watch all matches at the World Cup with an event pass on TVNZ+<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi sent in the cross that delivered Argentina a second consecutive World Cup final after another improbable…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":528130,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2966,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-529372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=529372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/528130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=529372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=529372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=529372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}