ATLANTA — Argentina delivered two late goals to beat England and earn a spot in back-to-back World Cup finals in a deafeningly loud Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Lionel Messi’s squad defeated the Three Lions in the World Cup semifinal by a score of 2–1, denying England its first World Cup final in 60 years.
Argentina now has a date with Spain in the final in New Jersey on Sunday afternoon, while England will head to Miami to face France in the third-place match on Saturday.
The semifinal reignited a highly contentious rivalry that from 1966 through 2002 featured heated World Cup matches, both on and off the pitch.
English and Argentine supporters showed up in droves to Atlanta, forming a sell-out crowd of 68,239 people. Indoor Mercedes Benz Stadium formed an echo chamber of songs, chants, cheers, and drums.
As their supporters bellowed out cheers, the first half was remarkably quiet on the pitch, with 19 fouls but only one shot on target, which came from England. In the 55th minute, Anthony Gordon gave the Three Lions the lead with his first goal of the World Cup.
As Argentina did in every other knockout match this tournament, the defending champions finally pulled through at the very end. Enzo Fernández found the back of the goal in the 85th minute, then Lautaro Martínez scored again in the second minute of stoppage time.
The building erupted after each goal as Argentine fans jumped, sang, and waived their jerseys over their heads. They moved in unison, flicking their hands forward to the beat, forming a giant wave of blue and white.
Despite not scoring, Messi who was still named the man of the match, and fans and players alike lowered their arms to bow down to him during post-match celebrations.
Sunday’s match will be held outdoors at MetLife Stadium, and U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to make his first tournament appearance to present the winner with the trophy.
Messi, freshly 39, will face Spain’s Lamine Yamal, freshly 19, who also came up through FC Barcelona’s system. It will mark the reunion of an almost unbelievable photo featuring Messi with baby Yamal from the Argentine’s time with Barcelona.
