Lionel Messi was impressed with his teammates as defending champions Argentina defeated England to reach the 2026 FIFA World Cup final. The Argentina skipper didn’t add to his goal tally, but ended up assisting twice for two late goals as the South Americans clinched a 2-1 victory.
Initially, England assumed that they were going through to the final after taking the lead in the 55th minute through Anthony Gordon. But Argentina didn’t give up and kept on pressing for an equaliser.
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In the 85th minute, with England hanging on, Messi took a short corner and then got the ball. He saw Enzo Fernandez lurking outside the opposition box and sent the ball to him. The midfielder curled in a screamer past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to level proceedings.
Two minutes into stoppage time, Messi sent a cross into the area at the back post. Lautaro Martinez rose the highest, heading it with ease for the winner as Argentina clinched a dramatic victory.
‘I knew this group always competes’: Lionel Messi
Speaking after the match to TYC Sports, Messi said, “It hurts whoever it hurts and say whatever they want, we proved once again on the pitch that nobody gives us anything.”
“We came in under fire, with a lot of doubts, but I knew this group always competes. I was sure we would be among the final four and, thank God, we made it into the top two.”
The Argentine team has also been criticised by fans and former players, mainly due to questionable referee decisions taken during their matches in this World Cup.
Responding to critics, he said, “If we had lost against England, people would have come out and talked some nonsense about us, but we didn’t give them the chance. We were lucky to win, to get through this, with everything this match means.”
“We knew that in football we were better than them, but a lot comes into play when you play a match of this magnitude, with historical baggage involved. Still, it’s special because of everything it means, and we had to win it,” he added.
Messi remains on top of the Golden Boot race with Kylian Mbappe (8 goals each). But with his two assists in the semi-final, he moved ahead of Mbappe in the race, as it’s the first tiebreaker for the award.
After the match, England captain Harry Kane had special praise for Messi. “Leo is still performing at the highest level,” he said.
“I felt like for large parts of the game, we dealt with him really well. But as always with the most dangerous players in the world, when they have the ball in the final third, they can be place-setters. And he did that again today. He’s obviously one of the best players ever for a reason,” he added.
