As Lionel Messi, the Soccer God, enters the twilight of his illustrious career with Inter Miami, he continues to showcase his extraordinary skills while pursuing a second consecutive International Federation of Association Footbal (FIFA) World Cup title.
On Thursday, Messi orchestrated Argentina’s 2-1 victory over England in the 2026 North American World Cup semifinals at Atlanta Stadium in Georgia, U.S., providing two assists.
With this stellar performance, Argentina has secured a spot in the finals for the second straight time, aiming to defend their crown from the 2022 Qatar tournament.
Starting as Argentina’s forward, Messi played the full 90 minutes, consistently unsettling England’s defense. Despite being heavily marked and unable to take a shot, he dazzled with a tournament-high nine successful dribbles and created four scoring chances, masterfully engineering a thrilling comeback victory.
Messi’s brilliance shone even brighter after Argentina conceded the opening goal.
In the 80th minute, during a corner kick, Messi cleverly drew defenders towards him before finding an unmarked Enzo Fernandez in front of the penalty area, setting up the equalizer with pinpoint precision.
This assist etched Messi’s name in World Cup history as the first player to record attacking contributions in seven consecutive matches within a single tournament. His remarkable run began with a hat-trick against Algeria in the first group stage match and continued with goals in five straight games through the Round of 16 against Egypt. He then added assists in the quarterfinal against Switzerland and again in this semifinal clash.
Messi’s impact continued into stoppage time when he won possession in the opponent’s half. Facing two defenders, he delivered an inch-perfect cross with his right foot, allowing Lautaro Martinez to head home the winning goal.
While England’s defenders were fixated on Messi’s lethal left foot, he caught them off guard by using his right to create the decisive goal.
With multiple assists in this match, Messi has now tallied eight goals and four assists in the tournament, cementing his place atop the scoring charts. In World Cup tiebreakers, assists are the deciding factor for players with equal goals, giving Messi the edge over Kylian Mbappé (France), who has eight goals and three assists.
Now in his sixth World Cup and at the peak of his powers, Messi faces the formidable Spanish defense, which has conceded just one goal in the tournament, as he chases back-to-back titles. He aims to extend his streak of eight consecutive games with an attacking contribution while leading Argentina to victory. The final showdown is set for 3:00p.m. on July 19 in New York City.
