New Delhi: Defending champions Argentina will rely heavily on captain Lionel Messi as they prepare to face England in the second semi-final of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Atlanta. While stopping the tournament’s leading scorer will be England’s biggest challenge, Argentina will also have to contain England’s in-form duo of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham in what promises to be one of the tournament’s most anticipated clashes.
Messi has enjoyed a sensational campaign, scoring eight goals in six matches to guide Argentina into the last four. Playing in his sixth consecutive World Cup, the 39-year-old holds the record for the most World Cup goals with 21, while France’s Kylian Mbappé trails by just one. Argentina are chasing a second successive World Cup final appearance after lifting the trophy in 2022, a feat previously achieved only by Brazil, who won back-to-back titles in 1958 and 1962.
England, meanwhile, arrive with an equally dangerous attack. Captain Harry Kane and attacking midfielder Jude Bellingham have scored six goals each, making them joint contenders for the Golden Boot. Argentina’s defence will need to keep both players quiet if it hopes to progress.
The match also revives one of football’s greatest rivalries. Argentina and England have met five times previously at the World Cup, with England winning three encounters and Argentina two. Their meetings include Diego Maradona’s famous “Hand of God” quarter-final victory in 1986 and England’s 1-0 win in the 2002 group stage. Remarkably, this will be Messi’s first World Cup appearance against England.
Argentina’s strength extends beyond Messi. The team has scored 17 goals in the tournament, with nine different players finding the net. Alongside Messi’s eight strikes, Lautaro Martínez has scored twice, while Julián Álvarez, Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister, Giovani Lo Celso, Lisandro Martínez, Cristian Romero and Josh Manuel López have all contributed goals, underlining the squad’s attacking depth.
England, however, have leaned more heavily on Kane and Bellingham, who account for 12 of the team’s goals. Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon have each added one goal, but much of England’s attacking threat has come through its captain and star midfielder.
Argentina reached the semi-finals after overcoming Switzerland in extra time despite playing nearly 50 minutes with ten men, while England defeated Norway after extra time, with Bellingham once again proving decisive.
Speaking ahead of the contest, Messi described facing England on football’s biggest stage as a special occasion, saying Argentina had shown great resilience throughout the tournament and would give everything to reach another World Cup final.
England captain Harry Kane admitted his side had yet to produce its best football despite reaching the semi-finals. He acknowledged that England would need a significantly improved performance against the reigning champions.
England coach Thomas Tuchel echoed those sentiments, saying his players had made life difficult for themselves in previous matches and would have to eliminate technical mistakes, increase their intensity and produce a much stronger display to overcome Argentina.
The winner of Thursday’s semi-final will advance to the World Cup final, where Spain await after defeating France 2-0 in the other last-four clash.
