REUTERS/Carlos Barria
The England national team was just minutes way from its first apperance in a World Cup Final since 1966. Then Lionel Messi and Argentina happened. Messi provided two assists in the final 15 minutes of the match to help propel Argentina to a 2-1 win.
It was yet another close call in this tournament for Argentina, who required extra time to beat Cabo Verde in the Round of 32, a late comeback against Egypt in the Round of 16, and extra time against Switzerland in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals against England, they fell behind in the 55th minute due to an Anthony Gordon goal and did not equalize until the 85th minute.
Soccer fans believe Jude Bellingham may have sealed England’s fate by provoking Lionel Messi earlier in the match
While Argentina may have finally put the ball in the net in the 85th minute (Enzo Fernandez) and the 92nd minute, some soccer fans are convinced their fate was already sealed much earlier after a moment between Messi and England star Jude Bellingham.
It was at this point Messi realised he had to lock in😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/wm7VWT1HxW
— Vusi.Mz🦉🇿🇦🇫🇷 (@YouDunnoVusi) July 15, 2026
I agree that Tuchel was at fault.
But whatever tf Bellingham said to Messi here was also a factor…. 😂 pic.twitter.com/gmdrYgA1PB
— Castro1021 (@Castro1021) July 15, 2026
He did the face DeNiro pulls in every gangster movie before he gets someone whacked. 🙏🫡 https://t.co/XyYpSCYRSd
— Sahil Rizwan (@SahilRiz) July 16, 2026
One video that has since been taken down due a to a copyright complaint said “He woke the beast. Big mistake 💀” and racked up over 321,000 likes and 13.8 million views.
“Bellingham might just be the thickest man alive. How big is your ego that you think winding up LIONEL MESSI is a good idea,” one viral tweet read.
“Never ever mess with Messi just because you wear a number 10 shirt like him. Once you provoke him, he will humble you and your ego,” another warned.
Whatever the reason may be, the loss will undoubtedly will heartbreaking for England. The goals came late in the match, manager Thomas Tuchel’s second-half tactics — particularly England retreating into a defensive shell for such an extended period of time — are being questioned, and the Three Lions have once again failed to get over the hump following a string of near misses in recent international tournaments: semifinals in the 2018 World Cup, finals of the 2020 and 2024 European championships, quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup, and now another exit in the semifinals of this year’s tournament.
After the match, Bellingham downplayed the incident and said they were discussing a foul.
“We were discussing a foul actually,” Bellingham told the media. “It was nothing bad. I’m sure everyone will do their thing and make it a big deal [out of it]. But it was nothing big really. I thought there was a foul earlier and he said: ‘What about the one on me?’ I said: ‘You’re strong enough to take it.’ You know what I mean? It was a privilege to play against him, it was nothing like that against him. I’m obviously on the losing side which hurts a lot. But a privilege to line up against one of the best.”
Argentina, the defending World Cup champions after winning the tournament in Qatar in 2022, will take on Spain, the defending European champs after winning the Euros in 2024, in the 2026 World Cup Final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday, July 19 at 3 p.m. EST.
Messi and Argentina enter the matchup as underdogs against Spain, who are favored on the moneyline with odds of about -150.