{"id":17449,"date":"2026-07-16T15:34:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T10:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/?p=17449"},"modified":"2026-07-16T15:34:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T10:04:22","slug":"lionel-messi-player-of-the-match-argentina-2-1-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/lionel-messi-player-of-the-match-argentina-2-1-england\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi: Player of the Match | Argentina 2-1 England"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When the final whistle in Atlanta confirmed Argentina&#8217;s place in the FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122 Final, the first person every camera found was Lionel Messi. Not celebrating wildly. Not sprinting. Just standing in the middle, taking it in \u2014 the way a man does when he knows exactly how valuable each moment is. He won the Player of the Match award for the semi-final. Two assists. One historic record. And the kind of performance that reminded the world why, at 39, he is still the most dangerous player at this tournament.<\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_73 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-black ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Page Contents:<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #282fff;color:#282fff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #282fff;color:#282fff\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/lionel-messi-player-of-the-match-argentina-2-1-england\/#The_Record_Nobody_Expected_to_See_Broken\" title=\"The Record Nobody Expected to See Broken\">The Record Nobody Expected to See Broken<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/lionel-messi-player-of-the-match-argentina-2-1-england\/#37th_Minute_%E2%80%94_The_Run_That_Defined_the_First_Half\" title=\"37th Minute \u2014 The Run That Defined the First Half\">37th Minute \u2014 The Run That Defined the First Half<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/lionel-messi-player-of-the-match-argentina-2-1-england\/#85th_Minute_%E2%80%94_The_Equaliser\" title=\"85th Minute \u2014 The Equaliser\">85th Minute \u2014 The Equaliser<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/lionel-messi-player-of-the-match-argentina-2-1-england\/#92nd_Minute_%E2%80%94_The_Winner\" title=\"92nd Minute \u2014 The Winner\">92nd Minute \u2014 The Winner<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/lionel-messi-player-of-the-match-argentina-2-1-england\/#Golden_Boot_Messi_Leads_on_Assists\" title=\"Golden Boot: Messi Leads on Assists\">Golden Boot: Messi Leads on Assists<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>Watch Lionel Messi in the <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/sports\/football\/fifa-world-cup\/2026\"><i>FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122<\/i><\/a><i> Final live on ZEE 5 \u2014 <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/myaccount\/subscription?plan-ref=0-11-7467&amp;asset-ref=0-6-4z5914493&amp;visibility=SELECTED&amp;context=FIFA\"><i>ZEE5 FIFA Subscription\u00a0<\/i><\/a><i> to the Quarterly Plan at \u20b9799 and don&#8217;t miss a moment.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Record_Nobody_Expected_to_See_Broken\"><\/span><b>The Record Nobody Expected to See Broken<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>By the time Messi took the field in Atlanta, he had already made history simply by being there. At 39 years and 21 days old, he became the oldest outfield player in FIFA World Cup\u2122 history to feature in a semi-final. It is the kind of record that sounds impossible until you realize it is Messi who holds it. The fitness alone is extraordinary. The fact that he then decided the match is something else entirely.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"37th_Minute_%E2%80%94_The_Run_That_Defined_the_First_Half\"><\/span><b>37th Minute \u2014 The Run That Defined the First Half<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>England&#8217;s plan to contain Messi was clear and disciplined: press him in numbers, deny space, foul him if necessary before he gains pace. For most of the first half, it worked. Then, in the 37th minute, it did not. Messi dropped into midfield, received the ball, and turned past his first marker in one movement. He accelerated. A second England defender arrived and was bypassed. Messi drove into central space, threatening the penalty area, and the danger was only ended when Elliot Anderson lunged into a hard, calculated tactical foul. Yellow card. A heated shoving match between both sets of players. And the confirmation, for anyone still uncertain, that England&#8217;s defensive block was not enough to hold Messi when he chose to move.<\/p>\n<p>That yellow card on Anderson would carry weight for the rest of the match \u2014 one booking away from a red, forced to be careful in every subsequent challenge. Messi, without kicking a shot in the first half, had already changed England&#8217;s defensive calculations.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"85th_Minute_%E2%80%94_The_Equaliser\"><\/span><b>85th Minute \u2014 The Equaliser<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>With <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/sports\/football\/fifa-world-cup\/2026\/0-6-4z5974253\/0-2-5z5974716\/teams\/argentina\/argentina-squad\">Argentina <\/a>trailing and time disappearing, Messi drifted to a short corner on the right. Calmly, unhurried, he rolled the pass to Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez arriving on the edge of the box. Fern\u00e1ndez hit it cleanly, precise and hard, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/sports\/football\/fifa-world-cup\/2026\/0-6-4z5974253\/0-2-5z5974716\/teams\/england\/england-squad\">England <\/a>were level. The assist was simple in its execution. The vision behind it \u2014 reading exactly where Fern\u00e1ndez was arriving, playing the ball before England could close the angle \u2014 was not simple at all. It was the product of a player who has been seeing these moments before they happen for twenty years.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"92nd_Minute_%E2%80%94_The_Winner\"><\/span><b>92nd Minute \u2014 The Winner<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Two minutes into stoppage time, Alexis Mac Allister fired an effort that struck the post, nearly breaking the deadlock himself. Messi collected the rebound at the right flank under pressure, and delivered a cross to the back post \u2014 precise, weighted, timed for a run. Lautaro Mart\u00ednez arrived and headed home. Argentina <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/sports\/football\/fifa-world-cup\/2026\/match-clips\/0-6-4z5974253\/eng-vs-arg-quickfire-highlights-sem-final-fifa-world-cup-2026\/0-1-6z51004236?utm_source=GoogleOneBox&amp;utm_medium=GoogleSearch&amp;utm_campaign=OneBox_quick_fire_highlight\"><strong>2-1<\/strong><\/a>. A World Cup Final place, won in the second minute of stoppage time, from a Messi cross.<\/p>\n<p>Two assists. Both decisive. Both arriving when Argentina needed them most. It is the sentence that summaries this entire tournament for Messi. He has scored the most goals in the tournament. In the moments that determined whether Argentina would continue or go home, he made the decisive contribution.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Golden_Boot_Messi_Leads_on_Assists\"><\/span><b>Golden Boot: Messi Leads on Assists<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Following the semi-final, Messi now leads the FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122 Golden Boot race. He is tied on goals with France&#8217;s Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 \u2014 but the primary tiebreaker, total assists, puts Messi ahead. The Golden Boot will be decided in the Final, where Argentina face Spain.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>Watch Messi in the FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122 Final \u2014 live on ZEE 5, India&#8217;s exclusive home of the World Cup.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>Disclaimer: Subscription pack prices are subject to change from time to time. Please visit the subscription page for the most up-to-date pricing information.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When the final whistle in Atlanta confirmed Argentina&#8217;s place in the FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122 Final, the first person every camera found was Lionel Messi. Not celebrating wildly. Not sprinting. Just standing in the middle, taking it in \u2014 the way a man does when he knows exactly how valuable each moment is. He won [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":16088,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ub_ctt_via":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3019],"tags":[3610,3031,3598,3616,3544],"class_list":["post-17449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fifa-world-cup-2026","tag-england-vs-argentina-match-report","tag-fifa-world-cup-2026","tag-finals","tag-player-of-the-match","tag-semi-finals"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1132x585-5.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"Sourav K","author_link":"https:\/\/www.zee5.com\/global\/blog\/author\/sourav-k\/"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lionel Messi: Player of the Match | Argentina 2-1 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