Messi delivers for Argentina again

Lionel Messi delivered two crucial goal assists for his teammates, and, with one more win, he will be delivering another World Cup trophy to Argentina.

Messi didn't add to his tournament-leading goal tally, but the 39-year-old produced the final passes on two late strikes that carried La Albiceleste to another stunning comeback and a 2-1 victory over England in the semifinals in Atlanta on Wednesday.

"These are special feelings. I think the squad could feel it. This was a game the Argentine people really wanted to win, and so did we," Messi, 39, said after facing England for the first time in his career.

"This is still a special fixture."

He was not quite able to emulate Diego Maradona, who scored two iconic goals in Argentina's 1986 World Cup quarterfinal win over England.

But he will settle for the two assists, and he has already emulated his legendary predecessor by winning the trophy four years ago in Qatar.

Now, after Argentina maintained its incredible record of never having lost a World Cup semifinal, Messi will appear in a second straight final, and a third overall.

The South Americans are aiming to become the first team to retain the World Cup since Brazil did so in 1962, and Messi, the sole survivor from the side that lost to Germany in 2014, will become just the second player after Brazilian great Cafu to appear in three finals.

"It is crazy to be playing in back-to-back finals," he said.

Argentina had already staged a stunning late comeback to beat Egypt 3-2 in the same Atlanta stadium in the last 16, and it smelled blood as England sat deeper and deeper after going ahead.

"Once again we managed to do the job when things were looking bad. We never stopped believing," said Messi, who has now played a record 33 World Cup games across six different tournaments.

For long spells on Wednesday his influence was limited, but that has often been the way with Messi and he was still able to drag his team to victory.

"Leo is still performing at the highest level," England captain Harry Kane said. "I felt like for large parts of the game, we dealt with him really well. But, as always, with the most dangerous players in the world, when they have the ball in the final third, they can create something. And he did that again today. He's obviously one of the best players ever for a reason."

Another stellar moment

Eight days after an improbable rally against Egypt in the round of 16, Messi returned to Atlanta to produce another stellar moment in a career that might already be the best of anyone to play the sport.

After a 55th-minute goal from Anthony Gordon, England was surely envisioning lifting the World Cup trophy for the first time since its singular title six decades ago.

But Messi and his blue-clad teammates, as they have shown over and over again, are never done.

In the 85th minute, with England hanging on for dear life, Messi pushed out a short corner, immediately got the return pass and spotted Enzo Fernandez lurking in the middle of the field, 25 yards from the goal. Fernandez ripped a curling shot past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to even the score.

At that point, it seemed inevitable that Argentina would pull out the victory.

And that's just what happened, with Messi again the orchestrator. Two minutes into stoppage time, he suddenly turned on the speed as he raced toward the goal line, gaining enough space to send a pinpoint cross into the area at the back post. The ball cleared six English players, setting up Lautaro Martinez to effortlessly head home the winning goal after slipping between two defenders.

It was a poignant moment for Martinez, all of it made possible by his captain.

"This is really powerful," he said in Spanish, fighting back tears. "The first time my father bought me a pair of soccer boots, I always dreamed of scoring this goal."

From there, it was just a matter of protecting the lead, which Argentina did easily.

When the final whistle blew, Messi dropped to his knees in the middle of the field, pumping his fists.

Messi played for years in the shadow of the late Maradona, the pride of Argentina who led the country to a World Cup title in 1986 that included two memorable scores — the "Hand of God" and the "Goal of the Century" — both in a quarterfinal win over England.

Now, it's Messi who has stamped his legacy with a triumph over one of Argentina's most bitter rivals.

"Seeing Messi playing football like this, at his age, it just leaves me speechless," said Matias Adorno, who turned out in Messi's No 10 jersey to celebrate with thousands or revelers in central Buenos Aires. "As Argentines, we've always put so much pressure on him. But he's achieved everything I could imagine."

Messi remains even with Kylian Mbappe of France in the race for the Golden Boot, with both stars having scored eight times.

But, courtesy of his two tiebreaking assists, he edges ahead of Mbappe for the award.

Mbappe has a chance to retake the lead in Saturday's third-place match against England.

Messi is also the all-time World Cup scoring leader with 21 goals.

What he really wants, though, is another title, and all that stands in his way is a determined and very hard-to-beat Spanish team.