Argentinians in a town in the Patagonia region, which boasts a new 26-meter-tall statue of star Lionel Messi, celebrated with overwhelming joy their country's qualification for the World Cup final after their victory over their fierce rival England on Wednesday evening.

This scene was repeated in Buenos Aires and across the country. Argentina is now only one match away from realizing its dream of becoming the first nation to win two consecutive World Cups since 1962, with Spain standing in their way.

In the town of Cutral Co in the southern Neuquén province, a crowd of about 300 locals gathered to watch the match on a screen set up next to Messi's towering knees. The crowd erupted in cheers when the referee blew the final whistle of the semi-final, in which Argentina came from behind to win 2-1 against England.

The clash between the two countries in today's World Cup semi-final was steeped in history and rivalry, including England's 1966 World Cup victory, memories of the 1982 war over the Falkland Islands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas Islands, and the famous 'Hand of God' goal scored by Diego Maradona in 1986.

Argentina's Vice President Victoria Villarruel wrote on platform X before the match: 'This is not just an ordinary match. I will not be politically correct or cold-hearted; the match against the English is always more than that. It's the Malvinas, Diego, Leo (Messi)'s last game, and putting an end to the invaders.'

The town of Cutral Co has a population of about 40,000 and includes a number of families working in the nearby oil fields of Vaca Muerta, a geological formation containing some of the world's largest reserves of shale gas and oil.

The town made headlines in June when it unveiled a statue by local artist Aldo Beroisa — showing Messi smiling, kneeling, and pointing his finger to the sky — and announced in a statement that it was the tallest monument to Messi in the world.

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