It is not Mexico ’86, nor has Argentina been at war with the United Kingdom in the last four years, yet no one in Argentina can escape the emotional intensity of a World Cup clash with England—a match that helps define the nation. The tournament’s most emotional team—propped up in the face of adversity by sheer pride—faces its most raw and visceral encounter yet. The Argentine newspaper *Clarín* has dubbed it “the people’s match.”
The symbolic weight is further amplified because this will likely be the only major fixture Leo Messi has yet to play; having turned 39 two weeks ago, he has never faced England. To bring the story full circle, this match places him in the very same showdown that transformed Diego Armando Maradona into a god during the 1986 World Cup. While the sporting, political, and atmospheric contexts differ vastly from that era, the parallel between these two Argentine icons facing England is inescapable.
Free from the pressure that defined Qatar 2022 and now unleashed in the United States (with eight goals and two assists—compared to *El Pelusa’s* five goals and five assists in ’86), the semifinal against the English offers Messi the chance to pursue a feat that eluded Diego: lifting a second World Cup trophy after the heartbreak of the Italia ’90 final, where Argentina lost on a penalty kick. Leo’s much longer career—he will be the oldest outfield player to contest a semifinal—has brought him to his sixth World Cup, surpassing Maradona’s four (the last of which was cut short by a positive drug test in ’94); Maradona was just 25 when he became a legend at the Azteca Stadium in 1986.
Their relationship had its ups and downs, and Messi’s ascent to the status of national legend occurred after Maradona’s passing in 2020. Diego’s impulsive nature led him to oscillate between praising his successor and asserting his own dominance. “Messi doesn’t have the personality to be a leader,” remarked *El Pelusa* [Maradona], who coached him during the 2010 World Cup (where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by a 4–0 loss to Germany). That tournament, incidentally, was the only one in which Leo failed to score any of the 21 goals he has tallied across all his appearances—a record total in history (surpassing *El Pelusa’s* eight goals in 21 matches).
Early in his Barcelona career, Messi had already replicated Maradona’s two famous goals against England—though far removed from the symbolic weight of a World Cup stage. He pulled off a “Hand of God” moment against Espanyol and a weaving slalom run past defenders against Getafe in the Copa del Rey. Now, unshackled from the constraints that diminished his stature with the *Albiceleste*, he has single-handedly carried a squad—from whom more is expected—to this stage.
If, as Scaloni says (to no avail), it is merely a football match, his team’s rocky road to the semifinals seems to demand a step up in performance. The quarterfinal victory in extra time left a bitter taste—the worst of the tournament so far. “We need to rediscover our football and see the players who have enabled us to play well. I take it for granted that they’ll leave everything on the pitch,” the coach analyzed this Tuesday. Argentina again conceded possession to Switzerland for long stretches—despite lineups built around the concept of keeping the ball—and a feeling is growing among observers that the players are suffering a physical slump.
The coach, who has insisted in recent days that this factor will be crucial, has mentioned a couple of times recently that the outlook was bleak at the start of the training camp, referring to players who arrived carrying injuries. “If I didn’t trust them, I would have considered making changes [to the squad list]. And they’ve proven me right,” he noted four days ago. England awaits—a team that has not exactly distinguished itself by its ability to build play through the midfield and arrives with its own uncertainties, yet possesses the sheer physicality to dominate duels. Thomas Tuchel’s squad (the German shares Scaloni’s fondness for Palma Futsal in Mallorca) represents not only the first opponent of comparable stature at this World Cup but also the first major test since the team defeated France in the 2022 final.
