Bellingham, Messi Lead England-Argentina Rivalry’s Next Chapter

A spot in the World Cup final is on the line when Argentina and England meet on Wednesday at Atlanta Stadium. The mindset and the motivation between the two nations and their fans are different as Argentina desperately wants to defend its title while England is looking to join the world’s elite and win its first title since the 1966 World Cup. The winner of the second World Cup semifinal will face Spain, which beat France, 2-0, on Tuesday in the first semifinal match. Here is everything you need to know for Wednesday’s World Cup semifinal. England vs. Argentina: How To Watch All eyes are on Lionel Messi in every game he plays. He has won a World Cup, Copa Américas, Champions League titles and every domestic league in which he has participated. But there is one thing Messi has never done: played against the English national team. These teams have a storied rivalry at the World Cup. In the quarterfinal of the 1966 World Cup, England defeated Argentina 1-0 in a game that saw Argentina’s captain, Antonio Rattín, have to be escorted off the field by police after a disputed red card. Coincidentally, Rattin died at 89 years old last week on the same day as Argentina’s quarterfinal win over Switzerland. Then in 1986 in Mexico City, we saw Diego Maradonna’s infamous “Hand of God” incident when he punched in a long ball past English goalkeeper Peter Shilton and the handball was missed by Tunisian referee Ali Ben Nasser. Argentina ended up winning, 2-1, and it is still widely one of the most talked about moments in World Cup history. Then in the round of 16 at the 1998 World Cup, England again disputed the officiating, as David Beckham was sent off and Alan Shearer had a goal disallowed. Argentina prevailed on penalties after a 2-2 draw. After having been eliminated by Argentina in two of the last three World Cups, England got revenge in a group stage matchup in 2002 with a 1-0 win. The goal was scored by Beckham via a penalty after Michael Owen was fouled by Mauricio Pochettino. That result led to Argentina’s shocking failure to advance out of group play. On Wednesday, the teams will write another chapter in their intense World Cup rivalry, and both teams should feel confident about arriving at this stage. Lionel Messi is the 2026 World Cup’s leading goalscorer with eight goals. He now has 21 career World Cup goals, making him the tournament’s top scorer. But in this tournament, he has assists in each of the last two games to also give him a record 10 career World Cup assists. What is perhaps the best news for Argentina is that Lionel Scaloni’s team has been developing a more balanced attack as the tournament has progressed. Messi scored the team’s first five goals of this World Cup. Since then, he scored three of the team’s next 12 goals. That balanced attack makes La Albiceleste far more difficult to stop. For England, the story is similar in that Harry Kane is not doing as much heavy lifting as he was at the beginning of the tournament. Since England’s lackluster 2-1 win over DR Congo in the round of 32 where Kane rescued England with two late goals, Jude Bellingham has sprung to life and been one of the tournament’s best players in the round of 16 and the quarterfinals. Bellingham scored two goals in a 3-2 win over Mexico and then two goals again in a 2-1 win over Norway. In doing so, Bellingham became the first player to score two or more goals in consecutive World Cup knockout games since Maradona accomplished the feat in 1986, which coincidentally included the “Hand of God” against England. Against Argentina, England will need Bellingham to also get wingers Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka involved to isolate Argentina’s fullbacks and create space. Meanwhile, Argentina’s midfield trio of Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister and Rodrigo De Paul will need to control the pace of the game and contain Bellingham. Central defenders Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martínez will also need to be on their game to stop Kane and the multitude of scoring options England has. England should be considered the favorite with more depth and players in their prime years. But even at age 39, Messi can win games by himself. Players To Watch The Real Madrid playmaker is in excellent form with two goals in each of his last two knockout games. He is finding space and is finishing with clinical precision. With Bellingham playing this well, England is far less reliant on Kane, and that helps the Three Lions immensely. At age 39, Messi continues to put up numbers that show why most people consider him to be the greatest player of all time. Against England, it will be another huge test and one of the big takeaways is how he will hold up after playing 330 minutes in his last three games.