Lionel Messi Is 39 and About to Face England for the First Time

Lionel Messi has played World Cup football against almost every kind of opponent the tournament can offer. Germany. Brazil. The Netherlands. Croatia twice over. In 21 years of senior international football and six World Cups, there is one country his path has simply never crossed: England. That changes on Wednesday in Atlanta, and at 39 years old, Messi is still finding new experiences at a tournament he has played in from the time he was a teenager.

“It’ll be a special match because I’ve never played against England,” Messi said this week. “They’re also a great team, one of the world’s powerhouses, and it’s always wonderful to play against sides like that. It’s an encounter that promises to be huge, even more so in a World Cup semi-final.”

A Record Already Rewritten

Whatever happens against England, Messi has already reshaped the tournament’s history books in the United States, Mexico and Canada. He scored a hat-trick in Argentina’s opening 3-0 win over Algeria, a performance that made him the joint-leading World Cup goalscorer of all time. Further goals followed against Austria and Jordan, and he was on target again in a pair of rollercoaster 3-2 extra-time wins, first past Cabo Verde in the round of 32 and then against Egypt in the round of 16.

Argentina needed 120 minutes once more to reach the semi-finals, this time against Switzerland, with Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez scoring in extra time to complete a 3-1 win. Messi did not get on the scoresheet in that game, contributing only an early assist, but the win extended a run that has taken Lionel Scaloni’s side to a sixth World Cup semi-final in the country’s history. Argentina have reached the final on all five of their previous appearances at this stage, a perfect record that stretches back decades.

Getting to Switzerland in the quarter-final was itself no simple task. Argentina had already needed extra time to see off Cabo Verde 3-2 in the round of 32, then came back from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2 in stoppage time in the round of 16, and had needed a hat-trick from their captain simply to make sure of top spot in the group phase. For a squad built around a 39-year-old talisman, the accumulation of knockout drama across a month-long tournament is itself a quiet achievement.

Alvarez Peaking at the Right Time

If Messi has carried Argentina’s early tournament, Alvarez appears to be building toward its closing stages. His extra-time strike against Switzerland was a long-range effort that settled a tie Argentina had led and then been pegged back in, and the forward made no attempt to hide what the goal meant to him.

“Scoring that goal was important,” Alvarez said. “I’ve got better as the World Cup has gone on and I hope to be even better in the semi-finals. What matters most is the team winning, but as a striker, I want to help by finding the net. It makes me feel really emotional. I can only imagine what it must’ve been like back home.”

Argentina’s central defensive pairing of Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez has been equally important in getting the team this far, while Emiliano Martinez, the Golden Glove winner from the 2022 final, remains a commanding presence in goal. Seven players beyond Messi have scored for Argentina in North America, and eight more have registered assists, evidence that Scaloni’s side has not depended on one man alone to reach the last four.

Alvarez’s own path to this semi-final has taken him through three clubs and two continents. An academy graduate of River Plate, he won the Copa Libertadores and the Argentine league title before Manchester City signed him in 2022, a move that produced a Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble in his first season. Aged just 22 at the 2022 World Cup, he finished as Argentina’s second-highest scorer behind only Messi, his double against Croatia in that tournament’s semi-final helping send Scaloni’s side to the final they went on to win. He left City for Atletico Madrid in 2024 in a club-record deal, and now arrives at a second World Cup semi-final in as many attempts.

England Have Been Here Before, Just Not Like This

England arrive at the semi-final having needed extra time or a moment of resistance in almost every knockout round. They came from behind to beat DR Congo in the round of 32, survived with 10 men to see off co-hosts Mexico in the round of 16, and then came from behind again to beat Norway 2-1 in the quarter-final, courtesy of two more goals from Jude Bellingham.

Bellingham and Harry Kane have each scored six goals in the tournament, the first time any nation has had two players reach that mark at the same World Cup. Kane, who was already the tournament’s top scorer when England lost the 2018 semi-final to Croatia, is again among the leading contenders for the Golden Boot. Marcus Rashford is the only other England player to have scored, though Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka have each provided three assists.

“This is an extremely successful period for our national team,” Kane said this week. “We want to take that final step. We’ve been together for six weeks now, giving everything for this badge every single day.” Bellingham, whose form has driven much of England’s run to Atlanta, added: “This is probably a bit beyond [my wildest dreams]. I’m a confident boy, but I don’t think you go to bed at night dreaming about games like that. It’s nice to have an impact and help my team, but I’m just so proud of how the lads keep battling regardless of what situation we find ourselves in.”

Kane finished as top scorer when England lost the 2018 semi-final to Croatia, a tournament that ended with silver medals rather than the trophy itself. He turns 33 later this month and has spoken of this squad as his last realistic chance to go one step further than that Russia run, or the near miss against Croatia again at the delayed Euro 2020 final. Bellingham, a decade younger, represents the other end of the same story: a player who has never known an England tournament without reaching at least the closing stages, and who now has the chance to finish the job Kane’s generation could not.

Atlanta’s Stage

Atlanta Stadium will host its eighth and final match of this World Cup on Wednesday, and both semi-finalists already know the ground well. England beat DR Congo 2-1 there in the round of 32, coming from behind to win, while Argentina completed an even more dramatic turnaround on the same pitch, beating Egypt 3-2 in the round of 16 after also trailing. The stadium, home to Major League Soccer’s Atlanta United and the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, stands more than 300 feet high with a retractable roof and a 360-degree video display, and has previously hosted Super Bowl LIII and the FIFA Club World Cup.

What Wednesday Means

England have reached the World Cup semi-final for the second time in the last three editions, having lost after extra time to Croatia at Russia 2018. That followed a penalty shoot-out defeat to West Germany at Italy 1990, with their only other run to this stage coming 60 years ago, when they went on to win the tournament. A win over Argentina on Wednesday would send Tuchel’s side into their first final in 60 years.

For Argentina, the aim is to join Brazil, who retained the trophy in 1962, as the only other side to defend a World Cup title. Messi’s own history at this stage of the competition is imposing. He converted the first penalty in the 2014 semi-final shoot-out win over the Netherlands and opened the scoring in the 3-0 win over Croatia four years later in Qatar. He will now try to add a first meeting with England to a career that, remarkably, had never previously included one.

Kick-off in Atlanta is at 8pm UK time on Wednesday, with the winner going on to face either France or Spain in the final on 19 July at New York New Jersey Stadium. Mbappe’s France and Yamal’s Spain contest the other semi-final a day earlier, on Tuesday in Dallas, meaning the identity of Argentina or England’s final opponent will already be known before either side takes the pitch on Wednesday.

For Messi, at an age when most players have long ago retired from international football, facing England for the first time will be one more new experience in a career that keeps finding them. For Alvarez, still only 26 and already a World Cup winner, Champions League winner and Premier League winner, it is a chance to add another chapter before he has even reached what should be the peak years of his career. Whichever way Wednesday goes, both men will have given everything to reach it, and both will do so knowing a place in a World Cup final is on the line for a country that has waited years to get back there.