Argentina reached a second consecutive World Cup final with a 2-1 victory over England in Atlanta, scoring twice in the final five minutes of normal time and stoppage time to overturn a deficit that had stood since the 55th minute. Enzo Fernández drove a low shot from outside the area to equalise in the 85th minute, and Lautaro Martínez headed in a cross from Lionel Messi two minutes into added time, completing a comeback that silenced England’s early second-half lead through Anthony Gordon.

The match pivoted on England’s decision to protect rather than extend their advantage. After Gordon converted Morgan Rogers’s delivery, Thomas Tuchel introduced extra defenders and the side dropped into a deep 5-4-1 block. Between the opening goal and Argentina’s winner, England held only 12 percent of possession, a figure lower than any team in the tournament except Qatar when reduced to nine men. Argentina struck the woodwork through Alexis Mac Allister and forced Jordan Pickford into a sharp save from Fernández before the equaliser arrived from a short-corner routine. Messi, drifting to the right flank, found Fernández unmarked on the edge of the box, and the Chelsea midfielder’s strike beat Pickford. The winner came after Messi beat Djed Spence on the right and delivered a cross to the far post, where Martínez headed home.

Messi’s two assists made him the first player on record (since 1966) to record nine completed dribbles and two assists in a single World Cup knockout match. He now has 12 assists in the tournament overall, the most in the data era, and eight goals in this edition, level with Kylian Mbappé in the race for the Golden Boot. After the match, Messi addressed persistent allegations of favouritism, stating that Argentina had reached the final “not by chance” and that “nobody gave us anything.” He also dedicated the win to Diego Maradona, noting the match fell 40 years after Maradona’s iconic quarter-final against the same opponent. “Surely Diego, from above, is enjoying it a lot,” he told TyC Sports.

Head coach Lionel Scaloni described his team as “unique” and said the players “smell blood” when opponents hesitate. Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez observed that England “went backwards and backwards” after scoring, a pattern that analysts in London noted echoed defeats to Croatia in 2018 and Italy in the Euro 2021 final. Argentina now face Spain in the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, aiming to become the first nation to retain the World Cup since Brazil in 1962. England will meet France in the third-place match on Saturday.