Lionel Messi assured this Sunday that the semifinal of the 2026 World Cup against England will be a "special" match, both due to the historic rivalry between the two teams and for a personal reason: throughout his World Cup career, he has never faced the English.
The captain of the Argentine national team made these statements after the victory against Switzerland in the quarter-finals, where the albiceleste team won 3-1 in extra time at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. "It's always nice to play against a team like this, especially in a World Cup semifinal," the Rosario star told the EFE agency.
Messi also acknowledged the exhaustion accumulated by the team but appeared confident: "The group is arriving in the best condition to do what needs to be done."
The Argentine captain held nothing back when discussing the criticism received during the week leading up to the match against Switzerland. "A lot of nonsense was said during the week, and we want to dedicate this to those idiots. Now we have extra motivation to face England," he declared, as noted in the video shared by EFE.
Argentina reached the semifinals thanks to goals from Alexis Mac Allister in the 10th minute, Julián Álvarez in the 112th, and Lautaro Martínez in the final moments of extra time.
Switzerland had equalized with a goal from Dan Ndoye close to the end of regular time, forcing extra time.
Messi did not score against the Swiss, but he has a total of eight goals in the tournament, a tally that keeps him tied for the lead in the Golden Boot race with the Frenchman Kylian Mbappé.
Historically, the Argentine is now the all-time leading scorer in World Cups with 21 goals, surpassing the 16 of German Miroslav Klose.
On the other side of the score, England defeated Norway 2-1 with a brace from Jude Bellingham at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, reaching the World Cup semifinals for the first time since 1990.
The history between both teams in World Cups is filled with iconic moments. Argentina defeated the English team in 1986, with both goals scored by Diego Armando Maradona — the "Hand of God" and the "Goal of the Century" — and again in 1998 by penalty shootout.
England, for its part, won in 1962, 1966, and 2002. Since that last meeting, the two teams have not faced each other in a World Cup, making this match the first in 24 years.
Argentina, the reigning world champion since Qatar 2022, will seek its second consecutive title when it faces England on Wednesday, July 15, at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, at 3:00 PM Cuba time.
Filed under: