England face Messi’s Argentina in Atlanta with a final against Spain up for grabs
The World Cup’s last semifinal pits England against the holders Argentina in Atlanta, with the winner meeting Spain in Sunday’s final.
Jul 15, 2026
The World Cup is down to its last semifinal, and it is the one most neutrals circled weeks ago. England meet Argentina in Atlanta in the early hours of Thursday morning IST, with the winner going through to Sunday’s final against Spain, who booked their place by beating France. One of these two heavyweights goes home a game short.
England’s hard road
Thomas Tuchel’s side have not had it easy, and that may be the point. They came from a goal down to see off DR Congo in the round of 32, Harry Kane’s late double the rescue, then dug in with ten men after Jarell Quansah’s red card to edge co-hosts Mexico 3-2 in the last 16, before Jude Bellingham struck twice against Norway, the winner arriving in extra time, to reach the semi-final. Kane and Bellingham now share the England lead on six goals each, the first pair of team-mates to reach six in a single World Cup, and England will want at least one of them firing again on the biggest night of the tournament so far.
Argentina lean on Messi one more time
Argentina arrive as the holders and, once again, with Lionel Messi at the centre of everything. At 39 he has scored eight times in this World Cup and pushed his all-time record to 21 goals at the finals, and even when he is not scoring he is pulling Argentina’s play together. The quarter-final against Switzerland was settled by a Julian Alvarez strike, and the round-of-16 win over Egypt came after Argentina had trailed, so this is a side that keeps finding a way rather than blowing teams away. For Messi, widely expected to be playing his last World Cup, another final is the obvious pull.
Where it could be won
The numbers say it is close to a coin toss. Opta’s model had England at 38.9 percent to win inside 90 minutes and Argentina at 34.1, with better than a one-in-four chance of extra time, so a tight, cagey night feels likelier than a shootout of chances. England’s back line will be judged on how it handles Messi dropping between the lines, and Argentina’s midfield on whether it can stop Bellingham arriving late in the box the way he did against Norway. Whoever controls that middle third probably controls the game.
There is history here too. This is the sixth World Cup meeting between the two and their first since England won a 2002 group game, a rivalry that barely needs the extra billing. On the pitch, it is the football that matters most, with a place in a final against Spain on the line.
When to watch
The semifinal is at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, kicking off at 3pm local time, which is 12:30am IST in the early hours of Thursday. The winner travels to MetLife Stadium near New York for Sunday’s final, where Spain will be waiting.