Argentina scored twice in the final five minutes to beat England 2-1 and set up a World Cup final against Spain.
Even though he didn’t score, the best player – arguably in the world – made the difference for Argentina.
Argentina fought back in a gritty win to best England 2-1 to clinch a spot in the FIFA World Cup final against Spain on July 19.
After going down in the 55th minute, Argentina brought it down to the final minutes. The defending champs looked poised for an early exit.
Then everything changed with Argentina scoring twice in the last five minutes.
Enzo Fernández's long-range strike tied the score in the 85th minute, and Lionel Messi set up a cross for a Lautaro Martínez header to take the lead in stoppage time.
The assist was Messi’s 12th, and he had both assists in the match. It marks the most assists in the World Cup since 1966.
He is now up to eight goals and four assists in this tournament as he leads the Golden Boot race.
To read more about the stunning comeback and the major final clash, here is the full story from Football Roundtable writer Joel Bontoft.
England was comfortable to fall back into a prevent shell with every player on the field in the defensive third to try and preserve a 1-0 lead.
It made it rather frustrating for Argentina as the moments ticked down, but their unrelenting pressure finally broke through.
Frustrations were compounded by some stellar saves by England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who had several key stops before Argentina finally broke the dam.
It’s been a pattern of play for the Argentinians throughout this World Cup, often going down and having to mount a comeback.
But with Messi on the field, they can never be counted out.
