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At the 2026 World Cup, Lionel Messi and Argentina have owned the final minutes of the knockout rounds.
Wednesday’s rally past England in the World Cup semi-finals – Argentina trailed 1-0 late on before winning 2-1 – added just one more entry to the long list of drama from the defending champions, who now face Spain in Sunday’s final.
Among them: A pair of rallies from late-game deficits in the knockout stages, coming back from 2-0 down to beat Egypt and then 1-0 down to beat England.
An overview of Argentina saving their best for last in this World Cup:
June 22: Messi sails the group stage victory over Austria
— Minute: 90+5
— Final: Argentina 2, Austria 0
In the second match in the group stage, the outcome was not necessarily in doubt. Argentina led 1-0 at the break in the second half when Lionel Messi grabbed his own rebound and blasted between three defenders for an insurance goal that sealed victory.
June 27: Messi scores late once again
– Minute: 80
— Final: Argentina 3, Jordan 1
Argentina led 2-1 in the group final and Lionel Messi – who had just entered the game as a sub – had a free-kick from around 25 yards out. He saw a hole in the wall of Jordan’s defenders and sent a low shot that bounced once and into the net for the clincher.
July 3: Messi sets up Cape Verde’s own goal
— Minute: 92nd, then 111th
— Final: Argentina 3, Cape Verde 2
The first game in the knockout stages was a wild one, with Argentina getting two goals in extra time and needing both to keep the Cinderella story from Cape Verde. Lisandro Martínez scored in the 92nd minute for a 2-1 lead and Messi served a perfect ball from a corner that turned into an own goal in the 111th minute – the one that gave Argentina a 3-2 win.
July 7: Three-goal rally against Egypt
— Minute: 79th, 83rd, then 90+2
— Final: Argentina 3, Egypt 2
The champions looked finished in the round of 16, with Egypt leading 2-0 with 11 minutes remaining before second-half stoppage time. And then came the comeback of the tournament, with Cristian Romero scoring in the 79th minute, Messi connecting four minutes later and Enzo Fernández getting the game-winner two minutes into stoppage time.
July 11: A couple of late goals against Switzerland
— Minute: 112., then 120+1
— Final: Argentina 3, Switzerland 1
Switzerland were down to 10 men but still sent their quarter-final with Argentina to extra time. And finally, Argentina got the breakthrough: Julian Alvarez scored the go-ahead goal in the 112th minute before Lautaro Martinez scored in the final moments as the champions advanced to the semi-finals with a 3-1 win.
July 15: Messi leads Argentina to World Cup final with two assists
— Minute: 85th, then 90+2
— Final: Argentina 2, England 1
Enzo Fernández scored in the 85th minute, Lautaro Martinez scored two minutes into stoppage time and Messi assisted both goals as Argentina rallied from a 1-0 deficit to beat England 2-1 and progress to the World Cup final. Those goals gave Argentina a staggering 11 figures in the 79th minute of play or later in this tournament.
