Lionel Messi: "This is why he is the King"

Image caption, Messi celebrates the win against England. July 15, 2026

Article Information

Author, Emlyn Begley Role, BBC Sport

Published 4 hours ago

Reading time: 5 minutes

Four years ago, it seemed as if Lionel Messi's story had come to an end.

He had finally won the World Cup (Qatar 2022) at the age of 35 in a match he described at the time as his last in the tournament, cementing—according to the perspective held by followers—his status as the greatest player in football history.

Four years before that, when he was 31, many—including those close to him—felt he had played his final World Cup match (Russia 2018) and would end his career without winning the title.

But here he is today, at 39, leading Argentina to eliminate England and reaching the World Cup final for the second consecutive time.

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Messi's two assists helped the South American side, Argentina, turn a deficit into a 2-1 victory, bringing his tally to four assists in the 2026 World Cup—in addition to his eight goals, making him the joint top scorer of the tournament and the second-highest assist provider.

Argentina will face Spain, the country where Messi spent most of his playing career with Barcelona, in the final match next Sunday in New Jersey.

His national team coach, Lionel Scaloni, said: "He is the best player in history. I don't know what else he needs to do to prove that. Most Spaniards adore him."

BBC football analyst Micah Richards said: "They have Lionel Messi. They have the best of all time."

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The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star, Messi, had never faced England in his football career, and coach Thomas Tuchel and the "Three Lions" fans certainly wished it had stayed that way.

The veteran showed some brilliant technical touches in a first half characterized by physical and tactical struggle—playing in a deeper role—but after Anthony Gordon gave England the lead in the 55th minute, Argentina rallied.

While Tuchel brought on more defenders and England dropped back, Argentina maintained 88 percent possession over the following 37 minutes.

Messi shone remarkably after moving to the right wing.

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez said after the match: "Having Messi on the wing was the key to our victory."

Messi completed nine dribbles and assisted two goals against England—becoming the first player in history, since 1966, to achieve this in a single knockout match of the World Cup. The entire England squad combined for seven successful dribbles in the match.

Messi touched the ball seven times inside the opponent's penalty area, matching the total touches of all England players combined. The same applies to the four chances he created.

He also delivered nine crosses, the highest number in the match. Most importantly, he assisted both of Argentina's goals.

For the first goal, Argentina executed a creative corner kick, with Messi setting up Enzo Fernandez, who unleashed a powerful shot from outside the penalty area to equalize in the 85th minute.

Then he provided a cross to Lautaro Martinez, who scored the winning goal with a header in stoppage time.

Former England defender Richards said: "Messi moves around the pitch, then explodes when the ball reaches his feet."

"His genius appears on the pitch, and sometimes that is the difference that makes the change."

Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart added: "The players returned to the style they used against Mexico and Norway, where they kept a tight grip on the goal," explaining: "This gave the opportunity to Lionel Messi who held the key to victory, as he completely controlled the match in the last 15 minutes."

England captain Harry Kane said: "We dealt with him very well for most of the match, but as is always the case with the world's most dangerous players, when they have the ball, they can create real opportunities. He is one of the best players in history, for a reason."

Can Messi win the Golden Boot?

Image caption, Lionel Messi is the best international scorer in Argentina's history by a wide margin, with 125 goals

This summer, Messi became the all-time leading scorer in the World Cup with 21 goals (out of 125 scored for Argentina).

15 of these 21 goals were scored after he turned 35.

Eight of them came in this tournament, surpassing the seven he scored in 2022, which was one goal short of France's Kylian Mbappe in the Golden Boot race.

This time, Messi is currently tied with Mbappe as top scorer with eight goals. The French team, led by Mbappe, plays against England next Saturday in the third-place play-off.

England's Bellingham and Kane both have six goals and remain in contention.

If the two players (Messi and Mbappe) tie in the number of goals, the deciding factor will be assists, with Messi having four assists to Mbappe's three. Messi might also finish this summer's World Cup as the top assist provider, as he trails the Frenchman Michael Olise by one goal.

Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson told the BBC: "He is a little magician, truly. He has done it throughout the tournament so far. Look at the goals he has scored and the balls he has sent into England's penalty area."

Will Messi ever decline?

Image caption, Messi's reaction after losing the 2014 World Cup final to Germany

It is easy to forget that Messi, who was at Barcelona and 29 years old at the time, retired from international duty in 2016.

He had lost the 2014 World Cup final to Germany and three Copa America finals.

Since reversing his decision, he has won the Copa America twice.

When Messi—who was at Paris Saint-Germain then—lifted the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, it felt like the final chapter of his career story had been completed.