At the 2026 World Cup, Lionel Messi and Argentina have owned the final minutes in the knockout rounds. Wednesday's rally past England in the World Cup semifinals — Argentina trailed 1-0 late before winning 2-1 — only added another entry on the long list of late-game dramatics by the defending champions, who will now play Spain in Sunday's final. Among them: A pair of rallies from late-game deficits in the knockout stage, coming back from 2-0 down to beat Egypt and then 1-0 down to beat England.
A breakdown of Argentina saving its best for last in this World Cup: June 22: Messi Seals Group Stage Win Over Austria — Minute: 90+5 — Final: Argentina 2, Austria 0 In the second match of the group stage, the outcome wasn’t necessarily in doubt. Argentina led 1-0 in second-half stoppage time, when Lionel Messi got his own rebound and threaded a blast between three defenders for an insurance goal that sealed the victory. June 27: Messi Scores Late Once Again — Minute: 80th — Final: Argentina 3, Jordan 1 Argentina led 2-1 in the group finale, and Lionel Messi — who had just entered the game as a sub — had a free kick from about 25 yards out.
He saw a gap in the wall of Jordan defenders, sending a low shot that skipped once and went into the back of the net for the clincher. July 3: Messi Sets Up Cape Verde Own Goal — Minute: 92nd, then 111th — Final: Argentina 3, Cape Verde 2 The first match of the knockout stage was wild, with Argentina getting two extra-time goals and needing both to hold off the Cinderella story that was Cape Verde. Lisandro Martínez scored in the 92nd minute for a 2-1 lead, and Messi served up a perfect ball off a corner kick that became an own goal in the 111th minute — the one that gave Argentina a 3-2 win.
July 7: Three-Goal Rally vs. Egypt — Minute: 79th, 83rd, then 90+2 — Final: Argentina 3, Egypt 2 The champions looked done in the round of 16, with Egypt up 2-0 with 11 minutes left before second-half stoppage time. And then the comeback of the tournament happened, 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 Pair Of Late Goals Against Switzerland — Minute: 112th, then 120+1 — Final: Argentina 3, Switzerland 1 Switzerland was down to 10 men, but sent its quarterfinal with Argentina to extra time anyway. And eventually, Argentina got the breakthrough: Julian Alvarez scored the go-ahead goal in the 112th minute, then Lautaro Martinez scored in the final moments as the champions moved into the semifinals with a 3-1 victory. 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 on both goals as Argentina rallied from a 1-0 deficit to beat England 2-1 and move into the World Cup final.
Those goals gave Argentina a staggering 11 tallies in the 79th minute of play or later in this tournament. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
