Despite some late pressure from England, Argentina managed to hold firm and get the job done in Atlanta. England, despite dominating the game, conceded two late goals to crash out. They will now play in the third-place match against France in Miami on Saturday, while Argentina have set up a final date against Spain at the New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday.

90 3' - Argentina have turned it around with a blink of an eye. Messi cuts inside into his right side near the byline and floats a cross towards the far post. Lautaro is lurking behind and rises the highest to head home. 

85' - GOAL! Argentina have equalised five minutes before the end of regulation time. Messi plays the corner short and receives it back from Montiel. He finds Fernandez in the centre of the box. Fernandez takes a shot on goal and rattles the back of the net.

82' - England go all-out in defence as Tuchel makes a couple of defensive changes. Dan Burn and O'Reilly are on for the final nine minutes plus added time. England will switch to a 5-4-1 formation!

75' - Off the crossbar! Another chance for Argentina, and it's that man again, Messi, pulling the strings. Another cross finds an Argentine player in the centre, but Mac Allister's header hits the crossbar before England get it clear.

72' - Triple change for Argentina! Otamendi, De Paul and Montiel are on for the final 18 minutes or so. It's the end of the night for Simeone, Molina and Lisandro Martinez.

Tuchel also makes his first alteration as Konsa replaces the goalscorer, Gordon!

66' - What a save! Pickford to the rescue for England. Messi floats a dangerous ball into the box. Gonzalez, the substitute, heads it down towards goal, but Pickford shows great reflexes to keep Argentina at arm's length.

64' - Argentina make the first change of the match as Nico Gonzalez is replaced by Leandro Paredes.

54' - GOAL!!! England have taken the lead, and it's Anthony Gordon who has broken the deadlock. Tagliafico is unable to clear the long ball, and Kane latches onto it. He plays it wide to Morgan, who fires a bouncing cross into the centre. Gordon manages to get behind Molina and side-foots the ball into the net.

50' - Bellingham is pulling the strings in midfield. He skips past Romero, but the defender pulls him back. Romero gets a yellow card for his troubles.

47' - Saved by Pickford! Simeone manages to skip past Spence somehow and fires a shot at Pickford. The goalkeeper gets down to his right to make the save. The follow-up from Alvarez goes into the side netting. Argentina have a corner!

The action is back underway for the second half in Atlanta! There appear to be no changes from either side at the break. It's set to be a huge 45 minutes for both teams.

HT in Atlanta! We remain goalless at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium as the teams head into the break after a fiercely contested first half. England have arguably been the brighter of the two sides, enjoying more possession and territory, while Argentina's best opening fell to Enzo Fernandez, whose effort sailed over the bar.

It's been an intense and often fiery encounter, with several strong challenges, heated exchanges and a handful of controversial decisions. England, in particular, will feel aggrieved by some of the calls, most notably Fernandez escaping an early booking after appearing to catch Elliot Anderson with a swinging arm.

40' - Argentina finally go into the book! Cristian Romero is penalised for pulling back Morgan Rogers as England threatened to break on the counter. The referee has seen enough and reaches for the yellow card, much to England's delight.

36' - The first yellow card of the match is finally shown, and it's an England player going into the book. Elliot Anderson is cautioned after a late challenge on Lionel Messi, sparking furious reactions from both sides.

32' - England have their first real sight of goal! Jude Bellingham wins a free-kick in a dangerous area, giving the Three Lions a chance to test the Argentine defence. Declan Rice delivers a teasing ball towards the far post, but John Stones can't quite get his head to it. The defender stretches but fails to make contact, and the chance goes begging. And we have the first attempt of the match!

27' - Tuchel is furious on the touchline! Reece James goes down appealing for a foul, but the referee isn't interested and waves play on. England's boss is livid with the decision and is once again deep in discussion with the assistant referee on the sidelines. The frustration is clearly building, and if he isn't careful, Tuchel could find himself in trouble with the officials.

23' - Argentina have a chance to threaten! Alexis Mac Allister goes down after being caught on the shin by Jude Bellingham, and the referee awards a free-kick. Messi quickly gets play restarted, picking out Giuliano Simeone on the right flank. Simeone drives at Djed Spence and whips in a dangerous cross, but the defender reacts well to block it behind for a corner. A promising opportunity for Argentina!

England 0-0 Argentina 

15' - England growing increasingly frustrated despite dominating possession. Morgan Rogers goes down under a challenge from Nicolas Tagliafico, but the referee is unimpressed and waves away the appeals. No free-kick for the Three Lions, though they do at least win a throw-in

10' - It's all kicking off in the opening stages in Atlanta! The intensity is rising with every challenge, and England are left frustrated once again after another coming together sees Argentina awarded the restart.

3' - Tempers are flaring in Atlanta! Anderson is down holding his head after a clash, and the replays appear to show Enzo catching him with an arm. England's players are furious, insisting it was a deliberate elbow and surrounding the referee in protest. But after a brief pause, play resumes with Enzo escaping without a booking, much to England's frustration.

Kick-off in Atlanta! Argentina get us underway, attacking from right to left in the first half. American referee Ismail Elfath is in charge of tonight's contest.

The two teams emerge from the tunnel for the national anthems ahead of kick-off. England's anthem will be played first, followed by Argentina's.

England and Argentina have met 14 times in competitive and friendly matches. England lead the head-to-head record with six wins, while Argentina have three. Five games ended in a draw.

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Some friendly fire among the Argentina supporters with less than an hour to go before kick-off in Atlanta.

Argentina fans fighting between themselves in Atlanta before the semi final. pic.twitter.com/Xo8v0fj0d7

— World Cup 2026 Daily (@TotalFootball) July 15, 2026

Three changes for England from the quarter-final win over Norway. Morgan Rogers comes in on the right wing, while Reece James and Djed Spence take up the wing-back roles as Thomas Tuchel reshuffles his side for the semi-final.

A rare omission for Rodrigo De Paul. The midfielder started all but one of Argentina's matches at Qatar 2022, missing only the quarter-final against the Netherlands, and was also rested against Jordan in the group stage of the current tournament as Lionel Scaloni experimented with his bench.

We have a confirmat that De Paul is indeed on the bench. A second start of this World Cup for Giuliano Simone at the right wing. Just one change for Argentina, who will line-up with a 4-4-2 change.

OFFICIAL: Argentina starting XI vs England!

Giuliano Simeone starts his first game since the group stages. Otherwise, no real shocks.

Thoughts on the team? pic.twitter.com/9TdafV1C84

— That's Football! (@ThatsFootballTV) July 15, 2026

Argentina fans throng the streets of Atlanta. Stunning!

Argentina fans have TAKEN OVER Atlanta ahead of their match vs England pic.twitter.com/0tvwmlXNQI

— Polymarket Sports (@PolymarketSport) July 15, 2026

Jude Bellingham ARRIVES! pic.twitter.com/iCAwcJ1p2S

— Polymarket FC (@PolymarketFC) July 15, 2026

Morgan Rogers start on the right wing for England, with both Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke on the bench. 

Ready for Argentina! pic.twitter.com/5fSh9K1tir

— England (@England) July 15, 2026

Giuliano Simeone will play on the right wing instead of Rodrigo De Paul, reports TYC Sports.  Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni hinted at changes to the starting XI on the eve of the clash.

"We might make some changes with the opponent in mind. The idea is to field our best lineup; the lads are in good shape," said Scaloni.

Argentina XI, as reported by TYC Sports: Emiliano  Martinez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian  Romero , Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Tagliafico; Giuliano Simeone, Enzo Fernandez, Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allsiter; Lionel Messi, Julian Alvarez

Lionel Messi is just one goal away from becoming Argentina's sole highest scorer at a single FIFA World Cup. The Argentine captain is currently level with the legendary Guillermo Stabile, who netted eight goals at the inaugural edition of the tournament in 1930.

Lionel Messi has an opportunity to take a clear lead in the Golden Boot race as Argentina bid for back-to-back finals. Messi, who is currently joint-top with eight goals, will have the chance to move ahead of France's Kylian Mbappe, whose team exited the tournament following a defeat to Spain in the first semi-final. 

Hello and welcome to NDTV Sports' live blog of the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final between Argentina and England in Atlanta. A place in the final against Spain is up for grabs as two footballing giants battle it out for a spot in Sunday's title clash at the New York New Jersey Stadium. 

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