Defending champions Argentina scored twice in the final minutes to beat England 2-1 in Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal, booking a second consecutive final appearance against Spain on Sunday.
England took the lead in the 55th minute when Anthony Gordon converted a cross from Morgan Rogers. Argentina looked set to be eliminated as the match wore into its closing stages, but Enzo Fernández leveled the score in the 85th minute with a long-range strike, before substitute Lautaro MartÃnez headed home the winner in the second minute of stoppage time. Lionel Messi, 39, assisted both goals, extending his tournament-leading assist tally to 10 in the knockout stage and moving him level with Kylian Mbappé for the tournament’s scoring lead with eight goals apiece.
It marked Argentina’s fourth straight nerve-wracking finish in the knockout rounds, following extra-time struggles against Cape Verde and Switzerland and a comeback from two goals down against Egypt. The win sets up a rematch of sorts in Sunday’s final at New York New Jersey Stadium, where Argentina will face Spain, who eliminated France 2-0 on Tuesday. It also sets up a highly anticipated individual duel between Messi and Spain’s teenage forward Lamine Yamal.
England, appearing in its first World Cup semifinal in decades, will now play France in Saturday’s third-place match, extending the country’s wait for a second World Cup title since its lone triumph on home soil in 1966. Wednesday’s match was the sixth all-time meeting between the two teams at a men’s World Cup, adding to a rivalry with historical undertones dating back to the 1982 Falklands conflict and Diego Maradona’s 1986 “Hand of God” goal.
