Lionel Messi has achieved almost everything in football, but there is one major opponent he has never faced in his legendary career, England. That will finally change when Argentina take on the Three Lions in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
The 39-year-old reached another milestone earlier in the tournament by making his 200th appearance for Argentina in the group-stage win over Algeria. Now, he hopes to lead the Albiceleste to yet another World Cup final.
Messi’s international journey began in 2005 when he was just 18. Fresh from helping Argentina win the FIFA Under-20 World Cup and after breaking into Barcelona’s first team, he made his senior debut under coach Jose Pekerman in a friendly against Hungary.
However, his dream debut quickly turned into a nightmare. After coming on as a substitute in the 64th minute, Messi was shown a red card just 90 seconds later for what the referee judged to be an elbow.
That dismissal also ruled Messi out of a friendly against England later that year, meaning he never got the chance to face them. Since then, Argentina and England have not met, making Wednesday’s clash at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium his first-ever game against the Three Lions.
“I’ve played against almost every major nation except England,” Messi said after Argentina’s quarter-final win over Switzerland. “They are a football powerhouse, and it’s exciting to finally play them, especially in a World Cup semi-final.”
Whenever Argentina and England meet at a World Cup, memories of Diego Maradona’s unforgettable performance in the 1986 quarter-final come flooding back. Maradona scored the famous ‘Hand of God’ goal before producing one of the greatest goals in football history with a stunning solo run.
Messi, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in Qatar four years ago, will now hope to produce another memorable display against England.
Heading into the semi-finals, Messi was the tournament’s leading scorer with 21 goals in a record 32 World Cup appearances, one ahead of France captain Kylian Mbappe.
Although he didn’t score in the quarter-final against Switzerland, where Julian Alvarez stepped up, Messi had found the net in each of Argentina’s previous nine World Cup matches.
Argentina are now just one win away from another World Cup final as they aim to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to successfully defend the title.
Reaching the final would also put Messi alongside Brazil legend Cafu, who played in three consecutive World Cup finals between 1994 and 2002. Even Maradona reached only two.
“Making another World Cup semi-final is something special,” Messi said. “It’s not something that happens all the time, so we have to enjoy this moment because we don’t know when we’ll get another chance.”
