The Athletic | Football(@TheAthleticFC):Lionel Messi had made relatively little impact on the game. There were moments of skill and invention — there are always those moments — but England’s defenders had contained his threat. And then, as against Egypt last week, Messi took control. He didn’t score either goal, but he made them both, drawing defenders too him and picking out an unmarked Enzo Fernandez to score from distance for the equaliser and then producing a wonderful cross — with his right foot, no less — to pick out Lautaro Martinez for the winner. People used to say of Messi that he couldn’t deliver for Argentina when the pressure was on. What a joke that sounds like now. 📝 @OliverKay

2026.07.15 21:47

Lionel Messi had made relatively little impact on the game. There were moments of skill and invention — there are always those moments — but England’s defenders had contained his threat. And then, as against Egypt last week, Messi took control. He didn’t score either goal, but he made them both, drawing defenders too him and picking out an unmarked Enzo Fernandez to score from distance for the equaliser and then producing a wonderful cross — with his right foot, no less — to pick out Lautaro Martinez for the winner. People used to say of Messi that he couldn’t deliver for Argentina when the pressure was on. What a joke that sounds like now. 📝 @OliverKay