Hundreds, thousands, millions — perhaps billions — of words have been written in praise of Lionel Messi. Countless sentences have been spoken, captivated by the magic in his feet. Yet Messi keeps reinventing himself, and the football world remains constantly amazed by his brilliance.
It isn’t just fans who fall under Messi’s spell — opposing players do too. Just as he did in the World Cup semi-final, Harry Kane once again described the Argentine magician as the greatest footballer of all time after experiencing his magic firsthand.
Messi didn’t just contribute a goal against England in the second World Cup semi-final in Atlanta — the 39-year-old star did virtually everything a footballer possibly can. Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez both scored from his assists, completing another comeback story for Argentina. Despite the defeat, Kane didn’t hesitate to acknowledge Messi’s brilliance.
“As is the case with the most dangerous players in the world, when they get the ball in the final third — the area near the opponent’s penalty box — they can produce magic at any moment.
“He [Lionel Messi] did it again today. He’s undoubtedly one of the greatest players of all time, and there are plenty of reasons why.”
England had led 1-0 until the 84th minute of the match. After a chaotic first half, they took the lead in the 55th minute through an Anthony Gordon goal, before Enzo Fernández equalized in the 85th minute.
Then, in the second minute of stoppage time, following the scheduled 90 minutes, Lautaro Martínez sealed Argentina’s victory with a brilliant header from a precisely placed Messi cross.
Kane reflected on his own team’s shortcomings as they fell short despite having led for much of the match.
“As I’ve said before, the amount of space we conceded in the final 20 minutes was disappointing. That gave not just Messi, but the rest of the team as well, an opportunity to get back into the game and build confidence.
“That allowed them to get the ball into all the dangerous areas. In the end, it became very difficult for us to stop them.”
