Argentina produced a stunning late comeback to defeat England 2-1 in the FIFA World Cup semi-final on Wednesday, booking a place in Sunday’s final against Spain and keeping alive their hopes of winning back to back world titles. Lionel Scaloni’s side appeared headed for defeat after Anthony Gordon gave England the lead in the second half. However, Argentina launched a relentless late assault as Enzo Fernandez equalised in the 85th minute before substitute Lautaro Martinez headed home a dramatic winner in stoppage time. Read More:Β Why a 64 Team World Cup Could Become Reality in 2030 Lionel Messi played a decisive role in both goals. The 39 year old captain provided the pass for Fernandez’s equaliser before recovering the ball moments later and delivering a perfect cross for Martinez to complete the comeback. The result sends the defending champions into another World Cup final, where they will meet Spain, who defeated France 2-0 in the other semi-final. England fall after Gordon opener as Argentina finish strongly The highly anticipated semi-final between two of football’s fiercest rivals lived up to expectations, with both teams battling intensely throughout a tense contest at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. England looked on course for their first World Cup final since lifting the trophy in 1966 after Anthony Gordon opened the scoring in the 55th minute. Cβest toujours Γ la 86ieme minute. England vs Argentina pic.twitter.com/VI7I9K7ImM— π¨π©βοΈ#ππππ_πΓππππππ #Wazalendoπ₯ (@tout_devoiler) July 15, 2026 The move started when Nicolas Tagliafico’s attempted clearance fell to Declan Rice. The midfielder released Morgan Rogers, whose cross found Gordon at the back post. Gordon calmly guided the ball past Emiliano Martinez to spark celebrations among England supporters. Argentina, however, refused to surrender. They dominated possession during the closing stages and repeatedly threatened Jordan Pickford’s goal. Their persistence paid off in the 85th minute when Messi found Fernandez on the edge of the penalty area. The Chelsea midfielder fired a powerful 20 metre strike into the corner to level the match. Read More:Β ICC Unveils New World Cup Formats. Here’s What Will Change Just seven minutes later, Alexis Mac Allister struck the post after another flowing attack. Messi reacted first to the rebound, surged down the right flank and produced an inviting cross that Lautaro Martinez headed home to complete a memorable comeback. “We are truly unique, and that’s not arrogance,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “From the bottom of my heart, these players led us to victory. I’m lost for words. A joy for our country, for our people.” Messi moves one step closer to another World Cup title The victory carried extra significance for Messi, who is widely expected to retire from international football after what many believe will be his final World Cup. Argentina’s captain has now guided his country into consecutive World Cup finals after lifting the trophy in Qatar in 2022. England captain Harry Kane struggled to hide his disappointment after watching his team’s dream disappear late in the match. “Just gutted for the boys, gutted for everyone, the team, the staff, the fans,” Kane said. LIONEL MESSI STUNNING ASSIST TO WIN THE GAME FOR ARGENTINA π€―π https://t.co/4i3txSqcFP— MC (@CrewsMat10) July 15, 2026 “We played a good game for the large majority of it. Once we went 1-0 up, we seemed to just try and hold on. At this level, it’s not enough.” England manager Thomas Tuchel defended his players despite the heartbreaking defeat. “The team gave everything and we were very, very close,” he said. Read More:Β Meet the Brothers Divided by National Teams at the FIFA World Cup “The team was top, we couldn’t bring it over the line, no, but at the moment no regrets.” Lautaro Martinez described the winning goal as a dream come true. “This is really emotional,” he said. “The first time my dad bought me a pair of boots, I always dreamed of scoring this goal.” Argentina’s supporters created a vibrant atmosphere throughout the evening, turning Atlanta into a sea of sky blue and white as the reigning champions earned another chance to lift football’s biggest prize on Sunday.
Messi or England? One Step Away From the World Cup Final
Lionel Messi’s Argentina will face England on Wednesday in one of the most anticipated matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with a place in the final against Spain at stake. The semi-final in Atlanta brings together two of football’s biggest rivals in their first competitive meeting since the 2002 World Cup. It also revives one of the sport’s most historic rivalries, shaped by memorable World Cup clashes and the political backdrop of the Falkland Islands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas. Read More:Β Spain Are One Win Away From Making World Cup History Reigning champions Argentina are chasing history. Lionel Scaloni’s side hopes to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to retain the World Cup title. The tournament could also mark a remarkable farewell for Lionel Messi, who returned for another World Cup after leading Argentina to glory in Qatar in 2022. The 39 year old captain has once again delivered on the biggest stage. Messi has scored eight goals, tying for the Golden Boot lead, and inspired Argentina through difficult knockout victories over Cape Verde and Egypt. Tuchel confident as England prepare for historic test England enter the match after an impressive tournament under Thomas Tuchel, although the team has often relied on moments of brilliance rather than complete performances. Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have scored 12 of England’s 13 goals, carrying the Three Lions into another World Cup semi-final. Tuchel insisted his players were embracing the occasion rather than fearing it. “I don’t feel a burden,” he said. “We feel the tension and will be nervous but that is normal.” He added, “What I like is that I feel the players are really competitive, hungry and excited to play this match.” The England manager also confirmed that midfielder Declan Rice had recovered from illness and was fit to start. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni attempted to keep the focus away from politics despite the historical significance of the fixture. “The reality is this is a football match,” Scaloni said. Read More:Β Why a 64 Team World Cup Could Become Reality in 2030 “I am not going to mix everything up, especially regarding things that happened so long ago.” He added, “It was a very sad time in our history, and we can’t do much about it. This is a football game, that’s all.” Spain await the winner after ending France’s title hopes Spain booked their place in Sunday’s World Cup final after defeating France 2-0 in Arlington, ending Les Bleus’ hopes of winning a third World Cup title. Mikel Oyarzabal converted a first half penalty before Pedro Porro doubled Spain’s advantage after the break. The victory extended Spain’s remarkable unbeaten run and confirmed their place in the final. Spain coach Luis de la Fuente praised his players after another dominant display. “We started almost four years ago with an idea and we’ve been faithful to that idea and it’s brought us here,” he said. Read More:Β Experts Say the World Cup Is Being Played in Dangerous Heat He added, “These players deserve everything. Day after day they’ve shown their commitment, their solidarity, their generosity, their talent. They make the difficult look easy.” The winner of Wednesday’s clash between Argentina and England will advance to Sunday’s World Cup final in New Jersey, setting up a blockbuster showdown with Spain. For Messi, it represents another chance to cement his legendary career. For England, it offers the opportunity to reach a first World Cup final since lifting the trophy in 1966.
Spain Are One Win Away From Making World Cup History
Spain booked their place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final with an impressive 2 to 0 victory over France on Tuesday, ending Les Bleus’ hopes of reaching a third consecutive World Cup final and moving within one win of football history. The European champions delivered a disciplined display at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas, combining defensive solidity with clinical finishing to outclass a France side that entered the semi final as one of the tournament favourites. Spain will now face either England or Argentina in Sunday’s final as they chase their second World Cup title after lifting the trophy in 2010. Oyarzabal and Porro seal dominant Spanish win The match turned in Spain’s favour midway through the first half when Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton awarded a penalty after France left back Lucas Digne brought down teenage winger Lamine Yamal inside the box. Mikel Oyarzabal calmly fired the penalty past goalkeeper Mike Maignan for his fifth goal of the tournament, giving Spain a deserved lead after controlling possession and limiting France’s attacking threats. France’s problems deepened moments later when defender William Saliba left the pitch with a recurrence of his lower back injury. Maxence Lacroix replaced the Arsenal centre back, forcing coach Didier Deschamps into an early defensive reshuffle. Spain continued to dominate through Rodri, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Olmo, who repeatedly found space in midfield. France failed to register a single shot on target in the opening half and managed only two attempts before the break. Deschamps introduced Desire Doue in the 57th minute to inject pace into the attack, but Spain struck again just a minute later. Pedro Porro exchanged a quick pass with Dani Olmo before calmly finishing past Maignan to double Spain’s advantage. The French coach responded by bringing on Theo Hernandez and Rayan Cherki after the second hydration break, but Spain’s organised defence refused to give France a route back into the contest. Spain have now conceded only one goal throughout the tournament while keeping six clean sheets in seven matches. Their unbeaten run has stretched to 37 games under coach Luis de la Fuente, equalling Italy’s long standing European record. France left to fight for third place The defeat ended France’s pursuit of a third World Cup title and another appearance in the final after winning the 2018 tournament in Russia and finishing runners up to Argentina in Qatar four years later. Despite boasting stars such as Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise, France struggled to create clear chances against Spain’s disciplined defence. After the match, France captain Mbappe admitted his side fell short. He said, “We didn’t play the match we wanted to, neither tactically, nor technically, nor in terms of our overall performance.” France will now play in the third place playoff, the final match in charge for Didier Deschamps before he steps down after 14 years as head coach. Attention now shifts to Wednesday’s second semi final in Atlanta, where England and Argentina will battle for the remaining place in the final. England captain Harry Kane dismissed suggestions that history would influence the clash. He said, “From a player’s point of view it’s us against a great team, who are smart, who are tactical, who know how to buy fouls, know how to slow the game down, like many different teams you come up against throughout your whole career.” The winner will meet an in form Spain side that now stands just 90 minutes away from becoming the first champions of the expanded 48 team FIFA World Cup.
For the First Time, the FIFA World Cup Gets a Perfect Final Four
For the first time in FIFA World Cup history, the top four teams in the FIFA world rankings have all reached the semi-finals, with Spain, Argentina, France and England advancing after a tournament format change designed to keep the highest-ranked nations apart until the final stages. Spain, ranked first in the world, will face third-ranked France in Tuesday’s semi-final. Second-ranked Argentina will meet fourth-ranked England on Wednesday. The historic lineup follows a major change introduced by FIFA for the expanded 48-team 2026 World Cup. Before the tournament, FIFA announced that the four highest-ranked teams would be placed in separate pathways of the knockout bracket. The governing body said the move would ensure “competitive balance” by creating “two separate pathways to the semi-finals.” Read More:‘They Wanted Messi’: Egypt Coach Questions Argentina Victory The system meant Spain and Argentina could not meet before the final, while France and England were also separated until at least the semi-finals. However, each team first had to win its group to benefit from the protected pathway. All four successfully topped their groups before progressing through the knockout rounds. Expanded tournament prompted FIFA rethink The adjustment became necessary because the 2026 World Cup expanded from 32 to 48 teams, adding an extra knockout round. Under the previous 32-team format, group winners automatically avoided each other in the Round of 16. Early meetings between top-ranked nations were already uncommon. The new tournament structure created a greater chance that leading teams could meet much earlier in the knockout stage. FIFA responded by introducing a tennis-style seeding system similar to those used at Wimbledon and the UEFA Champions League, where the highest seeds remain separated until the later rounds. Read More:Β Experts Say the World Cup Is Being Played in Dangerous Heat FIFA explained that the new draw procedure aimed to maintain competitive balance while preserving the possibility of blockbuster matches in the closing stages of the tournament. The governing body had already tested a similar approach during the FIFA Club World Cup, although not every top seed reached the semi-finals. History made after decades of surprises The achievement is particularly notable because several highly ranked teams have suffered early exits in previous World Cups. Belgium entered the 2022 tournament among the world’s top four but failed to reach the knockout stage. Germany exited in the group phase in 2018 despite being one of the highest-ranked teams. Spain suffered the same fate in 2014, Italy in 2010 and France in 2002. Since FIFA introduced its men’s world rankings in 1994, no World Cup has previously produced a semi-final lineup featuring all four highest-ranked teams. Read More:Β Lionel Messi Makes World Cup History, Scores in 7 Straight Games This year, however, FIFA’s revised draw system combined with strong performances from the tournament favorites to produce exactly the outcome the governing body envisioned. Spain, Argentina, France and England now stand one victory away from the final, guaranteeing that the 2026 World Cup will conclude with one of the world’s top-ranked teams lifting football’s biggest prize.
MbappΓ© Overtakes Messi Without Scoring More Goals
Kylian MbappΓ© climbed to the top of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot standings after scoring his eighth goal in France’s 2-0 quarter-final win over Morocco. The France captain now shares the tournament lead with Lionel Messi on eight goals. However, FIFA ranks MbappΓ© first because he has more assists. He has three assists, while Messi has one. FIFA uses assists as the first tiebreaker. If players remain level, it considers total minutes played. France secured their semi-final place with a commanding performance at Boston Stadium. MbappΓ© broke the deadlock in the 60th minute. Ousmane DembΓ©lΓ© doubled the lead six minutes later. Didier Deschamps’ side will now face either Spain or Belgium in Arlington, Texas. MbappΓ© has contributed directly to 11 goals at this World Cup. He has scored eight times and created three more. Messi has eight goals and one assist, giving him nine direct goal contributions. The French forward also reached another major milestone. His latest strike took his World Cup tally to 20 goals in only 20 appearances. He now sits just one goal behind Messi’s all time World Cup record of 21 goals. MbappΓ© has also scored 64 goals in 104 international matches for France. Reuters confirmed the milestone after Friday’s victory. MbappΓ© responds after first half penalty miss France controlled the match from the opening whistle. They created several chances but failed to score before the break. MbappΓ© earned a penalty after Noussair Mazraoui fouled him inside the box. Officials reviewed the challenge through VAR before confirming the decision. Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou then saved MbappΓ©’s penalty to keep Morocco level. France finally found the breakthrough on the hour mark. MbappΓ© curled a superb right footed shot into the net from outside the penalty area. DembΓ©lΓ© then made it 2-0 in the 66th minute with a calm finish after driving forward from midfield. Morocco entered the match as African champions after an impressive tournament. However, France gave them very little space. The Moroccan side managed only one shot on target. Azzedine Ounahi forced Mike Maignan into a comfortable save from a free kick in the 83rd minute. France’s disciplined display earned another deserved victory. Reuters reported that Deschamps’ team has now reached a third straight World Cup semi-final. Golden Boot race set for dramatic finish The Golden Boot battle could go down to the final days of the tournament. MbappΓ© and Messi both have eight goals. Yet the French star currently leads because FIFA gives priority to assists before any other tiebreaker. Only if goals and assists remain equal will FIFA compare minutes played. France will now prepare for a semi-final against Spain or Belgium. MbappΓ© also has another chance to extend his Golden Boot lead. He could also equal or surpass Messi’s World Cup scoring record before the tournament ends.
