FIFA World Cup 2026 Semi-final England 1–2 Argentina: A Certain Mr Messi!

By Chris Osa Nehikhare

Last night, I reevaluated my opinion of a certain Mr Messi.

At the beginning of the match, he looked uninterested. Detached. Almost like a man standing outside the contest, watching events unfold without any urgency to impose himself on them.

For a while, I allowed my England bias to deceive me.

I convinced myself that my boys had curtailed him. That England had successfully marked him out of the game. That the great Lionel Messi had finally met a defensive wall he could not breach.

I was wrong.

The game itself was hard and fiercely contested. Tackles flew from left, right and centre. Bodies collided, tempers threatened to rise, and every inch of the pitch had to be earned.

Through it all, the referee kept a remarkably cool head. He understood the intensity of the occasion and managed the contest without becoming its central character. For that, he deserves commendation.

Then England scored.

For an England supporter, it was the moment we had hoped for. My confidence rose. My emotions took control. For a brief period, I began to believe that perhaps this was our night.

But the goal changed the match.

More importantly, it changed Messi.

The detached figure from the opening stages suddenly came alive. The little man began to move with greater purpose. He demanded the ball, drifted into dangerous spaces and started to control the rhythm of the game.

From that moment, we had a game and a half unfolding on our screens.

The intensity rose. Argentina became rapid and relentless. They attacked from every direction, applying pressure upon pressure. Shots struck the posts. England’s defenders threw themselves in front of the ball. The goalkeeper was called into action again and again.

And Messi began to mesmerise.

As an England supporter, it hurt to watch.

Every Argentine attack carried danger. Every Messi touch carried possibility. It became increasingly obvious that something would eventually break.

And it did.

Twice.

Messi was responsible for both assists.

He did not score the goals, but he shaped them. He found the spaces. He delivered the decisive passes. He reminded everyone that greatness is not always measured by the final touch.

Sometimes, greatness is the vision that sees the goal before everyone else.

England played their hearts out. I am immensely proud of what they achieved and of the way they carried themselves throughout the tournament.

They competed with courage. They showed discipline, character and resilience. They gave us reasons to believe. They represented their country with dignity.

England: a great nation and beautiful people.

My support for England has never been neutral. It is emotional, instinctive and deeply personal. I watched the match not as an analyst sitting comfortably above the contest, but as a supporter living every pass, every tackle, every missed opportunity and every moment of danger.

That bias influenced my judgement.

It made me see Messi’s early quietness as weakness. It made me believe England had solved the problem. It made me hope that desire alone could overcome the evidence unfolding before me.

Yet football has a way of correcting us.

Before the tournament, when I made my predictions, the data and statistics pointed me towards Spain as favourites, with Argentina close behind.

But as the competition unfolded, emotion began to interfere with data.

My heart took over from my head.

I had already observed that this Argentina team was stronger than previous versions because it had alternative scorers. Their reliance on Messi to score every important goal was no longer absolute.

I had warned that Messi remained dangerous both inside and outside the 18-yard box. I had also expressed concern about England’s defensive frailties, even while praising the improvement they showed against Mexico.

All those observations returned last night.

Argentina, the world champions, are in another class.

They have quality in every department and class in virtually every position. They can defend, control, create, accelerate and punish. They possess experience, composure and the confidence of a team that knows how to survive difficult moments.

They are worthy finalists.

I will not predict the winner of the final.

My statistics pointed me towards Spain before a ball was kicked, and they remain my pre-tournament favourites. My heart is still with La Roja.

But Spain now face the hardest ninety minutes imaginable.

Standing in their path is Argentina.

Standing in Argentina’s path is Spain.

And somewhere in the middle of it all, quietly waiting for his moment once again, is a certain Mr Messi.