Bellingham and Messi lead next chapter of England-Argentina rivalry

A place in the World Cup final is on the line when Argentina and England meet at Atlanta Stadium on Wednesday. The mindset and motivation between the two nations and their supporters are different: Argentina is desperate to defend its title while England is looking to join the world elite and win its first title since the 1966 World Cup. The winner of the second World Cup semi-final will face Spain, who beat France 2-0, in the first semi-final on Tuesday. Here’s everything you need to know for Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final. England vs Argentina: How to watch All eyes are on Lionel Messi in every match he plays. He has won a World Cup, a Copa Americas, Champions League titles and every domestic league he has played in. But there’s one thing Messi has never done: play against the English national team. These teams have a historic rivalry in the World Cup. In the quarter-final of the 1966 World Cup, England beat Argentina 1–0 in a match in which Argentina captain, Antonio Rattín, had to be escorted off the field by police after a disputed red card. Coincidentally, Rattin died at the age of 89 last week, the same day as Argentina’s quarter-final victory over Switzerland. Then in 1986 in Mexico City we witnessed Diego Maradonna’s infamous ‘Hand of God’ incident when he threw a long ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton and the ball was missed by Tunisian referee Ali Ben Nasser. Argentina ended up winning, 2-1, and it’s still one of the most talked about moments in World Cup history. Then, in the round of 16 of the 1998 World Cup, England challenged the refereeing again, as David Beckham was sent off and Alan Shearer had a goal disallowed. Argentina won on penalties after a 2-2 draw. After being eliminated by Argentina in two of the last three World Cups, England gained revenge in a group stage match in 2002 with a 1-0 victory. The goal was scored by Beckham via a penalty after Michael Owen was fouled by Mauricio Pochettino. This result led to Argentina’s shocking failure to advance from the group. On Tuesday, the teams will write another chapter in their intense World Cup rivalry, and both teams should feel confident getting to that point. Lionel Messi is the top scorer of the 2026 World Cup with eight goals. He now has 21 career World Cup goals, making him the tournament’s top scorer. But in this tournament, he has provided assists in each of the last two matches, which also gives him a career World Cup record of 10 assists. Perhaps the best news for Argentina is that Lionel Scaloni’s team has developed a more balanced attack as the tournament has progressed. Messi scored the team’s first five goals at this World Cup. Since then, he has scored three of the team’s next 12 goals. This balanced attack makes the Albiceleste much more difficult to stop. For England, the story is similar in that Harry Kane isn’t doing as much heavy lifting as he was early in the tournament. Since England’s lackluster 2-1 win over DR Congo in the round of 16, where Kane saved England with two late goals, Jude Bellingham has come back to life and been one of the tournament’s best players in the round of 16 and quarter-finals. Bellingham scored twice in a 3-2 win over Mexico, then scored two more goals in a 2-1 win over Norway. In doing so, Bellingham became the first player to score two or more goals in consecutive World Cup knockout matches since Maradona accomplished the feat in 1986, which coincidentally included the “Hand of God” against England. Against Argentina, England will need Bellingham to also involve wingers Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka to isolate the Argentine backs and create space. Meanwhile, Argentina’s midfield trio of Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister and Rodrigo De Paul will need to control the pace of the match and contain Bellingham. Central defenders Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martínez will also need to be on their game to stop Kane and the multitude of goal-scoring options England have. England should be considered favorites with more depth and players in their prime years. But even at 39, Messi can win matches on his own. Players to watch The Real Madrid playmaker is in excellent form with two goals in each of his last two knockout matches. He finds space and finishes with clinical precision. With Bellingham playing so well, England are much less reliant on Kane, and that helps the Three Lions enormously. At 39 years old, Messi continues to put up numbers that show why most people consider him the greatest player of all time. Against England it will be another huge test and one of the main takeaways is how he will hold up after playing 330 minutes in his last three games.