LIONEL Messi has already won the World Cup, but the Argentina captain added another chapter to his astonishing career on Wednesday, inspiring his team to victory in their semi-final against England.
The defending champions were up against it, trailing to Anthony Gordon’s goal until the 85th minute in Atlanta before Messi worked his magic.
This time the tournament’s all-time leading marksman did not score. But he teed up Enzo Fernandez for the equaliser and delivered the cross for Lautaro Martinez to head in the winner, sealing a 2-1 victory.
“These are special feelings. I think the squad could feel it, and this was a game the Argentine people really wanted to win, and so did we,” Messi, 39, said after facing England for the first time in his career.
“This is still a special fixture.”
He was not quite able to emulate Diego Maradona, who scored two iconic goals in Argentina’s 1986 World Cup quarter-final win over England.
But he will settle for the two assists, and he has already emulated his legendary predecessor by winning the trophy four years ago in Qatar.
Now, after Argentina maintained their incredible record of never having lost a World Cup semi-final, Messi will appear in a second straight final, and a third overall.
The South Americans are aiming to become the first team to retain the World Cup since Brazil in 1962, and Messi, the sole survivor from the side that lost to Germany in 2014, will become just the second player after Brazilian great Cafu to appear in three finals.
“It is crazy to be playing in back-to-back finals,” he said.
Argentina had already staged a stunning late comeback to beat Egypt 3-2 in the same Atlanta stadium in the last 16, and they smelled blood as England sat deeper and deeper after going ahead.
“Once again we managed to do the job when things were looking bad. We never stopped believing,” said Messi, who has now played a record 33 World Cup games across six different tournaments.
For long spells on Wednesday his influence was limited, but that has often been the way with Messi and he was still able to drag his team to victory.
“I felt like for large parts of the game, we dealt with him really well. But as always with the most dangerous players in the world, when they have the ball in the final third, they can create something,” said England captain Harry Kane.
“He’s done that again today. He’s obviously one of the best players ever for a reason.”
Messi is arguably the greatest of all, and there may no longer be an argument if Argentina successfully defend their title in Sunday’s final against Spain.
Pele and Maradona only played in two World Cup finals, while Maradona won the trophy just once.
Messi is also the all-time top scorer in World Cup history with 21 goals, although Kylian Mbappe is just one behind and plays Saturday against England in the third-place play-off.
He could easily have bowed out of international football after 2022, when Argentina defeated France in the final.
But he appears to have been saving himself for this World Cup in recent years, removing himself from the intensity of European football and acclimatising to American conditions with Inter Miami.
While Cristiano Ronaldo’s ongoing presence in the Portugal team may have held them back, Messi remains almost as influential as ever.
“He is just the leader and key player in any team in which he plays,” said England coach Thomas Tuchel.
Now he gets his chance to play Spain in a competitive game for the first time, and the identity of the opposition makes the occasion even more special.
Messi moved to Barcelona with his family at the age of 13 and stayed for two decades, before leaving in 2021 for Paris Saint-Germain.
He has a Spanish passport and may one day settle down again in Castelldefels, just down the coast from Barcelona.
But before Messi thinks about that, he wants to douse Spain’s dreams.