Argentina in the final (Photo: Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
Argentina beat England in FIFA World Cup 2026 Semifinal: Argentina has booked its ticket to the final by defeating England in the second semi-final of the FIFA World Cup 2026. The second semi-final was played at the Atlanta Stadium, in which Argentina defeated England 2–1. With this victory, Argentina has maintained its record of never losing a semi-final match in the FIFA World Cup. In the second semi-final between Argentina and England, not only the thrill of football was seen but also a lot of drama. This match was full of pushing and fighting between the players of both the teams. For Argentina, which was trailing 0-1 at one time, the hero of victory in the second match was Lionel Messi, who dominated without scoring a goal.
The second semi-final was full of fights
The second semi-final of the FIFA World Cup 2026 between Argentina and England was full of tension. In this match, fighting and pushing between the players remained at its peak from the very beginning. Argentine players started doing this. But when the England players also started doing the same, more drama started appearing on the field. Due to the physicality of the players of both the teams, a total of 19 fouls were seen in the first half, out of which 7 fouls were seen only in the first 10 minutes of the game. This tension between the two teams continued till the end of the match. But even in this tense match, Messi showed his magic, due to which Argentina’s team was successful in defeating England even after taking the lead.
England scored the first goal of the match, took the lead
The first half of the second semi-final between Argentina and England was goalless. The first goal of this match was scored by England in the 55th minute of the game i.e. in the second half. Anthony Gordon scored that goal and gave England a 1-0 lead in the match. That goal definitely put pressure on Argentina. But only those who flourish under pressure create history. The Argentine team made the same thing meaningful.
How did Messi dominate without scoring goals?
Till the 84th minute, England was leading 1-0 in the match. But, after that, the magic of Messi was visible and then within no time, the England team lagged behind in the match so much that they had to be out of the race for the World Cup final. Enzo Fernandez scored the first goal for Argentina in the 85th minute on Messi’s assist. The match remained tied at 1-1 till 90 minutes of play. After that 9 extra minutes were added to it. Messi again made an excellent assist in the 92nd minute, on which Martínez scored a goal to give Argentina a 2-1 lead in the match. Messi was chosen player of the match for his two assists. With these two assists, Messi now has 12 assists in his FIFA World Cup career, which is a record.
Argentina’s victory chariot continues in the semi-finals
The Argentine team has never lost the semi-finals in the history of the FIFA World Cup. This was his sixth semi-final and in that too he maintained his record. Now Argentina will face Spain in the final on July 20. The England team will face the challenge of France in the third place match on July 19.
