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In the 2026 World Cup, Lionel Messi and Argentina have owned the last minutes in the knockout rounds.
Wednesday’s comeback against England in the World Cup semifinals (Argentina trailed 1-0 before winning 2-1) only added another entry to the long list of late dramas for the defending champions, who will now play Spain in Sunday’s final.
Among them: a pair of late comebacks from deficits in the knockout phase, coming back from 2-0 down to beat Egypt and then coming back from 1-0 down to beat England.
A breakdown of Argentina saving the best for last at this World Cup:
June 22: Messi seals group stage victory over Austria
— Minute: 90+5
— Final: Argentina 2, Austria 0
In the second match of the group stage the result was not necessarily in doubt. Argentina led 1-0 in second-half stoppage time when Lionel Messi got his own rebound and fired a shot between three defenders for the insurance goal that sealed the victory.
June 27: Messi scores again late
— Minute: 80
— Final: Argentina 3, Jordan 1
Argentina led 2-1 in the group final, and Lionel Messi, who had just entered the game as a substitute, scored a free kick from about 25 yards. He saw a gap in the wall of Jordan’s defenders and sent a low shot that skipped once and went into the back of the net for the decisive goal.
July 3: Messi scores Cape Verde’s own goal
— Minute: 92, then 111
— Final: Argentina 3, Cape Verde 2
The first match of the knockout phase was wild: Argentina scored two goals in extra time and needed both to contain the Cinderella story that was Cape Verde. Lisandro Martínez scored in the 92nd minute for a 2-1 lead, and Messi served a perfect ball on a corner kick that turned into an own goal in the 111th minute, giving Argentina a 3-2 victory.
July 7: Three-goal rally against Egypt
— Minute: 79, 83, then 90+2
— Final: Argentina 3, Egypt 2
The champions looked to be finished in the round of 16, with Egypt leading 2-0 with 11 minutes left in second-half stoppage time. And then came the comeback of the tournament, with Cristian Romero scoring in the 79th minute, Messi connecting four minutes later and Enzo Fernández scoring the winning goal two minutes into added time.
July 11: A pair of late goals against Switzerland
— Minute: 112, then 120+1
— Final: Argentina 3, Switzerland 1
Switzerland was down to 10 men but still sent its quarterfinal match against Argentina to extra time. And finally, Argentina made the breakthrough: Julián Álvarez scored the go-ahead goal in the 112th minute, then Lautaro Martínez scored in the final moments and the champions advanced to the semifinals with a 3-1 victory.
July 15: Messi leads Argentina to the World Cup final with two assists
— Minute: 85, then 90+2
— Final: Argentina 2, England 1
Enzo Fernández scored in the 85th minute, Lautaro Martínez scored two minutes into stoppage time and Messi assisted on both goals as Argentina recovered from a 1-0 deficit to beat England 2-1 and advance to the World Cup final. Those goals gave Argentina a staggering 11 goals in the 79th minute of play or later in this tournament.
