Atlanta (CNN) — With a double-decker London bus well and truly parked in front of the England goal as time ticked away in this second World Cup semifinal, it seemed like Argentina’s dream of the bicampeón had finally ended.
Luckily for La Albiceleste, Atlanta is a rail town. And their No. 10 – the magnificent, magical Lionel Messi – is a bullet train that can take them straight through the most determined of defenses.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium might never again see two comebacks like the ones engineered by Messi in Atlanta. The first was a controversial climb-back over Egypt from two goals down; the second, a lightning strike of guts and glory in the final minutes to beat England 2-1 and book a spot in the World Cup final. Argentina’s national stadium is Estadio Mâs Monumental in Buenos Aires, but the home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons might make a case to be their new favorite vacation spot, if not a second home.
Or, perhaps more appropriately for the adulation showered down on Messi and the continued reverence for the late Diego Maradona, it will become a place of worship – a place where miracles are remembered.
How else to explain what happened on Wednesday, or eight days prior in the escape against Egypt? How else to explain a 39-year-old legend still pulling the strings on the biggest games in world soccer like a master puppeteer?
How else to explain the fact that Argentina has won two games in Atlanta despite leading for a grand total of 20 of the 224 minutes played – and that all 12 of those minutes were in second-half injury time?
From high above the pitch in Section 337, there were moments of frustration – the posts that were hit, the wonder saves from Jordan Pickford, the shots that fizzed over the bar. But mostly, in the terraces and in the dugout, there was faith.
And faith can be a powerful thing.
It was faith that spurred Argentina toward the English net again and again, believing they had the keys to unlock the determined defense that had stymied Erling Haaland and Norway and Mexico in the Azteca. It was faith that drove Scaloni to send on the cavalry at the expense of his defense just before the comeback began, opening Argentina up to a counterattack as it searched for a goal.
It was faith that kept Enzo Fernández firing his long-range shots, believing that eventually one would ripple the back of the net before he finally netted the equalizer in the 85th minute. And it was faith that made Lautaro Martínez meander to the back post seven minutes later, knowing that his captain would find a way to get him the ball for the winner.
Throughout the match, the Argentine congregation in the stands at Mercedes-Benz Stadium never stopped believing. There were moments of angst, but never did the tension cause them to go silent – aside for a few moments after Anthony Gordon’s opening goal.
From the moment they walked into the stadium to the moment they left, they were singing, chanting, whistling and bouncing. They jumped up and down so forcefully the stands shook with the impact, answering the unlikely question: “What would it be like to watch a World Cup semifinal in an earthquake?”
They flung their hands as if in reverential ecstasy. They belted out their songs as if the sound of their voices could translate into cosmic energy for their blue-clad heroes below. Their chants were more like little devotions.
If the Argentines believe their soccer legends are something akin to deities, then what Messi gave to them – two passes that set up goals to give them a chance to win a second straight World Cup – felt like that most wondrous thing: an answered prayer.
England left with a devastating blow – and questions to answer
The answer to the question “How did this happen?” might be found in religious contemplation in Argentina. For the English, it’s going to spark an all-too-familiar cycle of finger-pointing and recriminations.
The primary focus will be on manager Thomas Tuchel, the German perfectionist who drew the ire of his nation after being critical of the Three Lions’ performance in the quarterfinal win over Norway. The former manager at Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich will now have his own performance firmly under the microscope.
After looking like the better side for the first hour of the match, earning a deserved opening goal through an incisive counterattack from Morgan Rogers and goalscorer Anthony Gordon, Tuchel decided to – to borrow a term from American football – go into the prevent defense the rest of the way.
And, as any Falcons fan sitting in the same stadium on an autumn Sunday a few months from now will tell you, the prevent defense never works.
After scoring the opener, England retreated into the same shell that beat Mexico in the Azteca. The difference between Wednesday’s match and that famous win in early July is that England had a full squad on the pitch against Argentina; when they parked the bus against Mexico, they were a man down.
The mentality that Tuchel cited repeatedly in that contentious interview in Miami after beating Norway was nearly enough to get the Three Lions to the final. But a little more adventurousness was needed, a little more threat. With England getting more and more defensive, the Argentines were able to press further into the attacking half in search of a goal.
Sometimes in big matches, being afraid of taking a risk is the riskiest strategy of all. Tuchel’s tactics invited the Argentines to attack over and over, and with Messi orchestrating those forays forward, it was a recipe for disaster.
A tasty final
England now heads to the relatively meaningless third-place playoff match against France in Miami on Saturday, while Argentina heads north to New Jersey for the final a day later.
It’s a match that is likely to be Messi’s last time in an Argentina shirt, a glorious going-away party in the biggest sporting event on the planet. All that’s standing in the way of the perfect send-off – back-to-back World Cup titles, a Golden Boot as the tournament’s top scorer, potentially securing his place as the greatest to ever lace up a pair of boots, and maybe, just maybe, ascending above Maradona in the hearts of Argentines – is Spain.
The Spanish might be the most well-drilled team in this tournament, having just finished squeezing the life out of France with a semifinal performance that would make a boa constrictor proud. Their ability to keep the ball away from opponents with their precise, pretty lpasses, before finding a cutting edge through Lamine Yamal or Mikel Oyarzabal, has been devastating to watch unfurl in this tournament.
The Spanish are chasing their own otherworldly feat, coming close to matching beat-for-beat their performance in South Africa 16 years ago that ended with a World Cup title. They are undoubtedly the best team in this tournament, a collective that moves as one and can shut down talented individuals – just ask Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise and others from France.
But what the Spanish don’t have – what no one else has – is Messi. And not just Messi, the player, but Messi, the concept.
At this point, it is clear that this group of Argentinian players would rather lose a leg than disappoint their legendary leader. The never-say-die attitude of the world champions is not built around personal pride or glory – it’s about elevating one man and fulfilling his dreams.
So often through this tournament, Argentina’s players have said that all they do is for Messi, to ensure that he reaches the heights they believe he deserves. It’s a level of devotion, a level of faith, that is unlike anything else in world soccer right now.
The French came out flat against Spain in the semifinal, looking relatively uninspired for such a massive occasion. It’s hard to imagine the Argentines facing that same sort of crisis, given their belief in Messi and the desire to elevate to heights rarely seen in this sport.
And maybe they will. After all, faith can be a powerful thing.
The-CNN-Wire
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