Lionel Messi delivers again for Argentina as defending champions reach another World Cup final

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ATLANTA (AP) — Lionel Messi delivered for his teammates.

With one more win, he'll be delivering another World Cup trophy to Argentina.

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

“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 be place-setters. And he did that again today. He's obviously one of the best players ever for a reason.”

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.

England was surely envisioning going for its first World Cup title since its only one six decades ago after a 55th-minute goal from Anthony Gordon.

But Messi and his blue-clad teammates, as they have shown over and over again, are never done. Now it's on to face Spain in the final on Sunday with a chance at becoming the first repeat champion since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.

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 Fernández lurking in the middle of the field, 25 yards from the goal. Fernández 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 end 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 Martínez to effortlessly head home the winning goal after slipping between two defenders.

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

“This is really powerful,” he said in Spanish, fighting back tears. “The first time my old man 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.

American sports stars were in awe of what they had just witnessed.

“WOWWWWWWW,” the NFL's J.J. Watt posted on X.

“Argentina is unreal,” added NBA champion Jalen Brunson, also on X.

Messi played for years in the shadow of the late Diego 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” -- 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 Matías 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 Mbappé of France in the goals race for the Golden Boot, with both stars having scored eight times. But with two assists, he moved ahead of Mbappé in that category, which is the first tiebreaker for the award. Mbappé has a chance to retake the lead in Saturday's third-place match against England.

Messi is also the World Cup career scoring leader with 21 goals.

But what he really wants is another title.

He's one win away.

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Associated Press writer Isabel Debre in Buenos Aires contributed to this report.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here