Lionel Messi inspired a stunning second-half comeback as Argentina rallied to beat England 2-1 in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinal on Thursday, keeping their dream of defending the title alive.
England looked poised to reach their first World Cup final in 60 years after taking the lead, but Lionel Scaloni's side responded with relentless intensity to overturn the deficit in Atlanta and book another appearance in the final.
Following the thrilling encounter, players and coaches from both sides reflected on the dramatic contest.
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What the group has been doing is incredible, and this, of course, is again something that shows our character, our grit, our collective, the way that we play together. It was really, truly amazing.
Lionel Messi
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I think that this team plays the best when we are facing adversity. We had a challenging game, a challenging situation. There was blood in the water, and we went for it. That's the feeling that I was getting. You just have to keep going. We hit the crossbar. We hit the post, and it just couldn't go in. There's six or seven chances, but I'm very pleased about that because the team fought to the very end, and I think this is critical.
Lionel Scaloni
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I dreamt it. I told Alexis (Mac Allister) that I was going to score. And I said on the bench to Facundo Medina that I was going to come on and score.
Lautaro Martinez
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You can discuss this with a million coaches (but) I have to make a decision on the pitch. I analyzed the match and I did it a certain way so that's my responsibility. In the moment, no regrets. The team gave everything and we were very, very close. It's not the moment to analyze the full tournament, we just went out because we lost a crucial match.
Thomas Tuchel
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Gutted for the boys, gutted for everyone -- the team, the staff, the fans. We played a good game, the large majority of it. When we went 1-0 up we seemed to try and hold on, which at this level is not enough. So, just gutted because we've worked so hard to be here and the lads have given every last bit of running, blood, sweat, tears.
Harry Kane
