The names of both the finalists of FIFA World Cup 2026 have now been decided. After Spain, Argentina has also made it to the finals and will now compete to win the title on July 19. In the semi-final match against England, Argentina won with the help of the brilliant play of its captain Lionel Messi. Argentina has made its place in the final for the second consecutive time. On the other hand, Spain is in tremendous form and only one team has been able to score a goal against them. Due to its excellent defence, Spain is being considered a strong contender for the title.
Argentina captain Messi, after struggling in the first half, shined in the final moments of the second half and helped score two goals as defending champions Argentina won 2-1. Argentina will now attempt to become the first team to win two consecutive World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Let us tell you that Lionel Messi lost the ball to the opposition players 15 times in the first half, which is his worst performance in a major tournament since 2018, but in the last moments of the match under immense pressure, he showed why he is considered one of the greatest players in the world.
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First, Enzo Fernandez equalized for Argentina by converting Messi’s pass into a goal in the 85th minute, while seven minutes later, Lautaro Martínez (90 plus two minutes), who came as a replacement, ensured the team’s victory by scoring a header from his captain’s cross. Earlier, England had been given the lead by Anthony Gordon in the 55th minute. In the third-place play-off, England will face France, whom Spain had defeated 2-0 in the first semi-final on Tuesday. Argentina and England, part of one of the greatest rivalries in international football, entered the semi-finals undefeated. Argentina has extended its unbeaten streak in the World Cup to 13 matches. Let us tell you that this was the sixth match between these two teams. Both teams have won three matches each. Argentina is ahead 3-2 in the five matches between the two teams in the World Cup.
How was the match?
Both the teams were seen battling for most of the first half due to which neither the goalkeepers faced any problem. Both teams together committed 19 fouls before the break while no shots were taken on goal. England made three changes to their starting eleven for the semi-finals. Manager Thomas Tuchel made way for Reece James and Jade Spence while Morgan Rodgers replaced Noni Madueke as a winger. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni also made a change, replacing Rodrigo De Paul with Juliano Simeone.
Both teams started aggressively but also adopted a cautious approach, resulting in eight fouls in the first 12 minutes but not a single shot on goal. Argentina committed five fouls while England committed three fouls. The Argentine team was fortunate that despite the rough play by their players, none of their players were shown yellow cards in the first 30 minutes. Enzo Fernandez fouled Elliot Anderson in the fourth minute and then Jude Bellingham in the team’s penalty area in the 32nd minute, but American referee Ismail Elfeth did not show him a yellow card. England got a free kick in the 37th minute due to a foul by an Argentinian player. James tried to send it towards goal from the left side but goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez easily saved the danger.
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foul line reached
Captain Harry Kane and Gordon tried to commit a deliberate foul against Messi but Anderson committed a tackle foul against the Argentinian legend for which he was shown the first yellow card of the match in the 38th minute. Referee Elfeth also showed Argentina’s Lisandro Martínez a yellow card for pulling on Morgan Rogers in the 42nd minute. Bellingham meanwhile pushed the ball forward on Spence’s pass but Argentina’s defensive line easily thwarted his attempt. Argentina made a bright start in the second half. Julian Alvarez troubled the England defense twice in the opening two minutes but his attacks were thwarted by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Cristian Romero was shown a yellow card in the 51st minute for a foul against Bellingham. After both center backs were shown yellow cards, Argentina’s team looked a little cautious, of which England took advantage. Captain Kane made a brilliant move in the 55th minute. He passed the ball to Declan Rice who passed to Rogers on the right. Rodgers delivered a brilliant right-footed cross into the box and Gordon headed the ball past Emiliano and into the goal. Three minutes later, Argentina made a brilliant move on the counterattack but Spence stopped Simeone heading towards England’s penalty area with a sliding tackle. Meanwhile, both the teams showed speed and made some moves but were not successful. Meanwhile, Rice’s weak effort was easily stopped by Emiliano, while Kane’s shot from a distance of 30 yards was also thwarted by Argentina’s defence.
visible effect of changes
Argentina made a change in the 64th minute, replacing Leandro Paredes with Nico Gonzalez and he immediately tried to make his mark. Messi delivered a brilliant cross into the middle of the penalty area in the 69th minute and Gonzalez sent a header into the bottom corner but Pickford made a diving save on the goal line. To maintain the pace, Argentina fielded Rodrigo de Paul, Gonzalo Montiel and Nicolas Otamendi in place of Simeone, Nehuel Molina and Lisandro Martínez, while England dropped Gordon and called in Ezri Konsa.
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Argentina meanwhile got a golden opportunity to equalize but Alexis McAllister’s header hit the goal post. England’s defense line began to appear disintegrated under the pressure created by Argentina’s continuous attacks. Argentina got the benefit of continuous attacks in the 85th minute when Fernandez scored on Messi’s pass. Messi passed the pass to Fernandez. All England’s defenders were inside the penalty area but the Chelsea midfielder hit a brilliant shot past Pickford and gave Argentina the equaliser. Pickford had stopped Fernandez from scoring just seconds before this.
When it seemed that the match would go into extra time, Messi once again created magic with his feet. The 39-year-old delivered a brilliant cross from the right side in the second minute of injury time, and that too with his considered weaker foot. Martínez thrilled the spectators in the stadium by hitting a powerful header near the goal and sent the ball into the goal and ensured Argentina’s victory.
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