England were so close. And then, like so many times before against Argentina, they were not.
Two goals in the closing minutes at Mercedes-Benz Stadium sent the defending world champions into the 2026 FIFA World Cup final and left England’s 60-year wait for a second final appearance intact. Enzo Fernandez leveled in the 85th minute with a stunning strike from 20 yards, and substitute Lautaro Martinez headed home Lionel Messi‘s cross in the second minute of stoppage time to complete a 2-1 comeback that was painful for England and glorious for Argentina.
Argentina will face Spain on Monday in East Rutherford, New Jersey. England will play France in Sunday’s third-place match in Miami Gardens, Florida. The gap between those two destinations is enormous—and England will spend a long time thinking about how they let this one slip.
Gordon Puts England Ahead
The first half was tense, physical, and largely bereft of clear chances—broken up repeatedly by fouls in an atmosphere that crackled before the teams even took the field. Both sets of fans had tried to drown out the other’s national anthem. It continued like that on the pitch.
The breakthrough came after halftime. Anthony Gordon put England ahead and gave them what looked, for a long stretch, like a ticket to the final. Argentina—with their grip on the World Cup suddenly loosening—poured forward in search of a response.
Pickford Holds the Line—Until He Couldn’t
Jordan Pickford was England’s best player in the closing stages, and he deserved a better night than the one he got. His first crucial save came in the 69th minute, a world-class effort to deny Nico Gonzalez after the Argentina midfielder connected with Messi’s pinpoint cross. Seven minutes later, Pickford saved from Alexis Mac Allister—moments after the Liverpool player had struck the post with another effort.
England were surviving. Argentina were coming.
Then Fernandez struck. His shot from 20 yards was the kind of goal that changes games instantly—precise, powerful, and timed for maximum devastation. Messi had assisted it. The stadium shifted.
Five minutes into stoppage time, Messi played a cross to the far post. Martinez, just on as a substitute, headed it home from close range. That was it. Argentina were ahead. Argentina were through.
“I dreamed it, I swear,” Martinez said afterward. “I told Alexis I was going to score a goal; I told Facu Medina that I was going to come on and win the match. We stretched the team and went all-in. We got the goals in the end, and after three and a half years, we’re back in a World Cup final.”
Messi Writes History, Again
Messi now has 10 assists in the World Cup knockout stage—six more than any other player in at least the past 60 years. He has recorded a goal or assist in 11 consecutive World Cup matches dating back to 2022, the longest such streak since at least 1966. At 39 years old, in what is almost certainly his final tournament, he is producing numbers that defy rational explanation.
Argentina, for their part, became the first team with multiple winning goals in second-half stoppage time in a single World Cup. They did it against Egypt in the round of 16. They did it here against England. This team simply refuses to accept that a game is over.
“This group never ceases to amaze me,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “What these players demonstrate is incredible. After this, it’s very difficult to try to make people understand what they do on the field. We are unique, and that’s not arrogance. The fans are the ones who carried us to victory.”
England coach Thomas Tuchel was honest about what went wrong.
“We’re disappointed, we were so close, but we got too passive after we scored and conceded a lot of chances,” Tuchel told the BBC. “We could not turn the ball possession around and then conceded so many crosses, chances and shots. We were close but couldn’t keep the level up after we scored.”
The Final That Awaits: Argentina vs. Spain
Sunday’s clash between Argentina and Spain, who overwhelmed France in the other semifinal bracket, will be the first World Cup final between the reigning champions of Europe and South America. It will also be the first time the two top-ranked teams in the FIFA world rankings have contested the final since the rankings were introduced in 1992. Argentina chase their fourth title and a place alongside Italy and Brazil as the only nations to win back-to-back finals.
Messi against Spain. The defending champions against the reigning European kings. One game. One trophy.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup has delivered exactly the final it deserved.
