The World Cup semifinal field is complete, and it delivered exactly the matchup fans have been waiting decades for. Defending champion Argentina will face England on Wednesday in Atlanta, in a rematch of one of international soccer’s most storied rivalries — and the two nations’ first meeting at a World Cup since 2002. Both teams punched their tickets the hard way, needing extra time in Saturday’s quarterfinals to survive knockout thrillers that pushed them to their limits.
Argentina’s Grind: A 3-1 Extra-Time Escape
Argentina’s path to the semifinal was anything but smooth. Defending champions Argentina beat ten-man Switzerland 3-1 after extra time thanks to a decisive long-range effort by Julian Alvarez. Alexis Mac Allister headed in a 10th-minute cross from Lionel Messi to hand Argentina an early lead at Kansas City Stadium. But Switzerland refused to fold — Dan Ndoye leveled the score in the 67th minute with a close-range finish, before Switzerland’s night got harder when Breel Embolo was sent off with a second yellow card following a VAR review, leaving the Swiss to play the rest of the match a man down.
Even against 10 men, Argentina couldn’t find a winner in regulation. It took extra time for the defending champions to pull away, with Julián Álvarez producing a golazo from outside the penalty area in the 112th minute, and Lautaro Martínez adding a late third to seal the win. The victory extended Argentina’s run to a sixth straight World Cup semifinal, though it came at a cost of style — Messi’s streak of scoring in nine consecutive World Cup matches came to an end even as Argentina advanced regardless. Messi still enters the semifinal tied with Kylian Mbappé for the tournament’s high with eight goals, and reports increasingly point to this being the final World Cup run of his career.
England’s Bellingham-Powered Comeback
Across the country in Miami, England’s route to Atlanta was its own extra-time rollercoaster. Norway had taken the lead on an Andreas Schjelderup strike before Jude Bellingham leveled it right before halftime. After a scoreless second half, Bellingham scored the eventual winner three minutes into extra time off a rebound, sending England through 2-1. The performance made history: Bellingham became the first player to score two or more goals in consecutive World Cup knockout matches since Diego Maradona in 1986.
It wasn’t a dominant England campaign by any measure — England has won just two of its six matches by more than one goal, and hasn’t won by more than a single goal since the knockout stage began — but England manager Thomas Tuchel wasn’t dwelling on style points afterward, simply calling the result fantastic and saying reaching the last four is amazing.
A Rivalry Steeped in History
Wednesday’s meeting carries weight well beyond this tournament. The matchup marks the latest chapter in a rivalry stretching back to Diego Maradona’s 1986 quarterfinal heroics and David Beckham’s sending-off in 1998 — two of the most talked-about moments in World Cup history. This will be the first time the two nations have met at a World Cup since 2002, adding fresh stakes to an already loaded fixture.
The broader semifinal picture is historic in its own right. This marks the first World Cup ever in which the semifinal spots are occupied by the top four ranked teams entering the tournament — France at No. 1, Argentina at No. 2, Spain at No. 3, and England at No. 4. Argentina, meanwhile, is chasing a rare piece of history of its own: only two nations have ever successfully defended a World Cup title, Italy and Brazil, and a win in Atlanta would keep that bid alive.
What’s Next
The semifinals kick off Tuesday in Texas, where Spain faces France — a rematch of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup final opponent — before England and Argentina meet Wednesday afternoon at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. For Messi, regardless of the outcome, it may be one of the final matches of a career that redefined the sport. For England, it’s a chance to end a 60-year wait for a second World Cup title. For Argentina, it’s a shot at history few nations have ever achieved.
The Bottom Line
Few matchups in international soccer carry the weight of Argentina versus England, and this one arrives with everything on the line — a likely last World Cup dance for the sport’s most decorated active player, a young England side searching for its own defining moment, and a semifinal field stacked with the four best teams in the world by ranking. Wednesday in Atlanta won’t just decide who reaches the final. It’ll add another chapter to one of soccer’s oldest and fiercest rivalries.
Who do you think comes out on top in Atlanta — Messi’s Argentina or Bellingham’s England?