{"id":400673,"date":"2026-07-16T12:21:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T12:21:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/400673\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T12:21:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T12:21:45","slug":"lionel-messi-argentina-score-world-cup-semifinal-win-over-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/400673\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi, Argentina score World Cup semifinal win over England"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ATLANTA\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The jury is still out on whether Lionel Messi<\/a> is the greatest soccer player ever. But there should be no doubt he\u2019s the greatest to ever play in a World Cup.<\/p>\n

And you don\u2019t need the records, the wins or the goals to prove that \u2014 although he certainly has enough of those. You just need to see Messi at his most magical, as he was Wednesday, setting up a pair of game-changing goals in a seven-minute span to lift Argentina to a 2-1 win<\/a> over England and into Sunday\u2019s World Cup final with Spain<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really hard to speak right now, but I\u2019m going to try not to cry,\u201d Lautaro Mart\u00ednez, who scored the winning goal two minutes into stoppage time, said in Spanish. \u201cI\u2019m already overwhelmed inside. It\u2019s incredible. Everything we\u2019ve achieved is just incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like their 13-game World Cup unbeaten streak, dating to the opening game of the 2022 tournament in Qatar. Or back-to-back trips to the final, which gives them a chance to become the first repeat champion in the men\u2019s tournament since Brazil in 1962.<\/p>\n

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

Argentina\u2019s Lautaro Martinez scores his team\u2019s second goal in front of England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (1) and fellow England players Ezri Konsa (2) and John Stones (5) during a World Cup semifinal in Atlanta on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

(Erik S. Lesser \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

But it hasn\u2019t been easy. Eleven of Argentina\u2019s 19 goals \u2014 including both scores in Wednesday\u2019s semifinal \u2014 have come after the 75th minute. They trailed in the 80th minute or later in two of their last three knockout games, only to rally both times.<\/p>\n

And Messi has either scored or assisted on three of the four goals that rescued Argentina.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis group, in the face of adversity, keeps going, keeps going, and never gets tired,\u201d Mart\u00ednez said. \u201cAnd we have the best in the world as our example.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday that meant heartache for England, which was as close to a World Cup final as it has been in six decades, leading 1-0 on Anthony Gordon\u2019s second-half goal with just five minutes left in normal time.<\/p>\n

But after taking the lead, England turned strangely conservative, dropping all 11 players behind the ball at times, daring Argentina to score. Eventually it did, with Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez curling a right-footed shot from about 20 yards past England keeper Jordan Pickford and in at the left post to tie the game.<\/p>\n

It was a pass from Messi that found Fern\u00e1ndez in space at the top of the box, earning the Argentine captain his record 11th World Cup assist.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe opponent doubted themselves,\u201d Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni said. \u201cWe smelt blood and went for it. We all felt it. \u201c<\/p>\n

The tie didn\u2019t last for long though, with Messi threading a perfect cross from the right wing to Mart\u00ednez, who found space between English defenders John Stones and Ezri Konsa at the far post. Messi\u2019s pass just cleared the leaping Stones, then dipped to Mart\u00ednez, who nodded it home.<\/p>\n

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

England\u2019s Harry Kane and England\u2019s Jude Bellingham are dejected after losing to Argentina during a World Cup semifinal on Wednesday in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

(Jeff Roberson \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

When the ball hit the net, the sellout crowd at Atlanta\u2019s massive Mercedes-Benz Stadium erupted.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce again, despite falling behind, we managed to turn the game around in stoppage time. That speaks volumes about this group, about this team that never settles, always wants more, always strives for more,\u201d Mart\u00ednez said.<\/p>\n

It also gives Messi a chance to strive for more in Sunday\u2019s final. He has already played in more World Cup games, scored more World Cup goals and had more World Cup assists than any man in history. With a win over Spain, he can join another elite group of men: those who have won back-to-back World Cup titles.<\/p>\n

History will eventually decide if it was Messi\u2019s brillance or the tactical surrender of England coach Thomas Tuchel that truly turned the game around. Tuchel, however, said he had no regrets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe played the matches how they were,\u201d he said. \u201cWe overcame every obstacle. We were very, very close today. It\u2019s not a moment now to analyze the full tournament because we lost a crucial match.\u201d<\/p>\n

His captain, Harry Kane, who lost in the semifinal of a World Cup for the second time in three tournament, was also not interested in second-guessing.<\/p>\n

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

Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi sits on the shoulders of a teammate and celebrates after beating England in a World Cup semifinal on Wednesday in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

(Rebecca Blackwell \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a lot of good moments in this tournament, a lot of good games,\u201d he said. \u201cWe talked about knocking on the door. We\u2019re close, we just have to find that missing piece in the final stage of the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

They may be closer than they think: England is the only team this century to score the first goal in a World Cup semifinal but not reach the final, according to the OptaJoe statistical service.<\/p>\n

Argentina\u2019s team, meanwhile, is missing nothing \u2014 except maybe a second title,<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people of Argentina should celebrate being in a final,\u201d Scaloni said. \u201cThis group of players is difficult to describe in words. They are so special. I\u2019m getting emotional. They fight for everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to try to win the final. But what else does this team need to do? There isn\u2019t much else to say. I\u2019m eternally grateful to this group of players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sports editor Iliana Lim\u00f3n Romero contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ATLANTA\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The jury is still out on whether Lionel Messi is the greatest soccer player ever. But there should…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400674,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[19294,11708,423,2194,7244,48,52,51,160893,12409,47,50,49,1555,16142,5463,427,315,12967,316,160892],"class_list":["post-400673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-argentina","tag-england","tag-game","tag-goal","tag-group","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-lautaro-martinez","tag-lionel-messi","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-man","tag-messi","tag-minute","tag-team","tag-time","tag-tournament","tag-wednesday","tag-world-cup-semifinal-win"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}