WC semis: Why Messi show against England may be one of his career-best?

When the paeans of praise for yet another superlative semi-final performance by Lionel Messi die down, it will be time to assess whether it ranks among his greatest displays on the World Cup stage. It is a tough call, as every member of his global fan base has a favourite performance from his two decades of brilliance. Even so, this one has a strong claim to be among his top five.

Yes, the maestro did not add to his tally of eight goals, which leaves him joint-top of the Golden Boot race alongside Kylian Mbappé. But another opportunity awaits him in the final. Messi scored twice in the epic 2022 World Cup final against France, and even if a fired-up Mbappé overtakes him after the third-place play-off, the 39-year-old has already done enough to emerge as the frontrunner for the Golden Ball.

“It’s crazy how everything is unfolding,” the man of the moment said, before adding: “Honestly, before the World Cup began, I really believed in this group. I knew we would make the last four [teams] and that we would be in contention. And now we’ve reached another final. I think that’s five in a row. I’m not sure. It’s incredible.”

An old adage in sport is that the hallmark of a champion lies in the ability to shine in the biggest moments — and to prevail when the odds are not quite in their favour. This is what gives the semi-final a different context, as Messi has, surprisingly enough, never faced the Three Lions in his journey across six World Cups. Their first meeting was a winner-takes-all affair, and Argentine fans with a sense of history inevitably recall Diego Maradona’s much-discussed 1986 quarter-final, not to mention their impressive record against England.

It was against such a challenging backdrop that Messi took the pitch in Atlanta, and the first 45 minutes resembled almost a Boca Juniors versus River Plate derby — nerves frayed, tempers flaring and cynical tackles flying in. There was little doubt that La Albiceleste were once again employing their dark arts to unsettle their opponents, while England were not to be left behind either, with Messi brought down several times through rugged challenges.

Pressure began mounting on the defending champions after Anthony Gordon’s goal in the 55th minute, and once again the responsibility fell on the Argentina captain — for the fourth knockout match in a row — to rescue his team. Messi did not disappoint, delivering two decisive assists: one for Enzo Fernández’s 85th-minute equaliser and another for super-sub Lautaro Martínez’s 92nd-minute stoppage-time winner. The cross for the second goal, where he took on the role of a winger, came from his relatively weaker right foot.

England, under Thomas Tuchel’s instructions, had parked the bus by then, with their taller defenders crowding their final third to contain the wave of attacks. This was the phase when Messi was at his mesmerising best, shrugging off heavy physical challenges and wrong-footing defenders with his bag of tricks to find teammates in the right positions. According to official Opta data, he became the first player since data collection began in 1966 to complete nine successful dribbles and provide two assists in a single World Cup knockout match.

The hunger to pull his team out of the woods was evident as Messi, who at 39 often spends more time walking on the pitch to conserve energy, covered a distance of 8.35 km — the most he has managed in this World Cup. He now has four assists in the tournament, with one more match to go — already one more than his title-winning campaign in Qatar.

For someone with his body of work, Messi has countless individual performances on his résumé that have reached greater statistical heights and featured no quiet opening half — be it his five-goal masterclass against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012, his legendary El Clásico displays for Barcelona, or his two-goal showing in the 2022 World Cup final. However, the impact of his performance in Atlanta ranks right up there, given the importance of the occasion and the way the odds were stacked against Argentina until the 85th minute.

The way Argentina have been staging jailbreaks ever since reaching the last 32, they can now rightly be called the masters of the endgame — with Messi, of course, playing the conductor.