What Lionel Messi has achieved on the football field may be beyond any other player in history. Yet at the age of 39, the football magician is about to add an entirely new chapter to his career. Argentina, the reigning World Cup champions, are set to face one of their greatest rivals, England. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and his teammates take the field in Atlanta at 1:00 am Bangladesh time on Wednesday.
Despite scoring 125 goals in more than 200 matches for Argentina, Messi has never faced England in his entire international career.
The quarter-final against Switzerland appeared to be slipping away from Argentina at one stage, but the Albiceleste ultimately claimed a 3-1 victory in extra time. Although Messi failed to score for the first time in this World Cup — ending his record-breaking nine-match scoring streak — he remains level with France’s Kylian Mbappé in the Golden Boot race with eight goals. He is also the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.
BBC pundit Micah Richards said, “England may be able to outrun Argentina, but Argentina have a magician in their team called Messi. Everyone plays for him. He finds spaces that are almost impossible to spot. The personality and aura he brings to the game are unique in world football.”
Will England fear Messi or see him as an opportunity? Former England striker Wayne Rooney believes Messi’s limited defensive contribution could be exploited. “Messi can be a weakness in Argentina’s defence because he does not track back,” Rooney said. “But, like Jude Bellingham, he can turn a match on its head at any moment. The key to marking Messi is intense concentration and constant communication among defenders.”
BBC Radio Five Live analyst Chris Sutton believes new England coach Thomas Tuchel and his players will be relishing the challenge. While this Argentina side does not feel invincible, Sutton notes they have an exceptional ability to find a way to win regardless of the circumstances.
The rivalry between Argentina and England is one of football’s most intense and storied. Diego Maradona’s controversial Hand of God goal and his stunning individual strike — widely regarded as the greatest goal of the twentieth century — at the 1986 World Cup, and David Beckham’s red card in the 1998 World Cup, are just some of the iconic moments that have made matches between these two nations so memorable.
After 21 years, the two sides are meeting again in a senior international match. Since Messi’s international debut in 2005, they have crossed paths just once, but on that occasion — in a friendly in Geneva that England won 3-2 — Messi did not play. He had been suspended after receiving a straight red card just 30 seconds into his debut against Hungary.
South American football expert Tim Vickery noted that Argentina fans regard England as their greatest rival, and that Messi’s international career would have felt incomplete without facing them.
The statistics tell a compelling story about Messi’s finishing. His favourite opponents in international football are Bolivia, against whom he has scored 11 goals in 12 matches. He has also scored seven goals each against Venezuela and Ecuador, six against Uruguay and five against Brazil. Among European sides, he has scored three goals each against Croatia, Switzerland and France, including a brace in the 2022 World Cup final. Of all the opponents he has faced more than once, only Qatar — in two matches — has kept him scoreless.
The entire football world will be watching on Wednesday night as one of the greatest players in history finally faces his last great international opponent, and as two football superpowers collide in what promises to be an unforgettable encounter.
