World Cup Nights: Argentina floor England 2-1 with a late rally. Sunday it's the final against Spain

Another legendary comeback. In Atlanta, England led through Gordon, but in the closing stages Lionel Messi caught fire: two surgical assists for Enzo Fernandez on 85' and Lautaro Martinez on 92' turned the game on its head. Final score 2-1: reigning champions Argentina march into the final, where they will meet Spain on Sunday 19 July. Today and tomorrow the tournament pauses; on Saturday, France-England play for third in Miami.

At Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium — turned by Albiceleste fans into a little star-spangled Bombonera — Thomas Tuchel's England played their game and struck on 55': a Morgan Rogers cross and a fine Anthony Gordon volley for 1-0. It looked like England's night, sixty years after Wembley '66. Then Messi took over: on 85' the captain freed Enzo Fernandez for 1-1, and in the second minute of stoppage time he curled a perfect cross with his weaker foot for Lautaro Martinez to head home on 92' and send Argentina into raptures. Final score 2-1 — another late comeback, another masterpiece in a tournament the holders are winning on grit and heart.

Messi didn't score but decided everything: two assists that keep him on eight goals and top of every chart in the tournament, the all-time record holder for both goals and assists in World Cup history. 'There was blood in the water, and we went for it,' said Lionel Scaloni: 'We were ready to go home sad, knowing we had left everything on the pitch. After they scored, we really proved ourselves.' On the other bench, Thomas Tuchel's disappointment — 'We were very, very close' — and the first criticism of his calls: England go out one step from the dream again. Match-winner Lautaro, meanwhile, savoured the perfect night: 'I had dreamt of scoring the decisive goal.'

Now the World Cup pauses for two days and recharges for a headline weekend. On Saturday 18, at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium, France and England play for third place: two semifinal casualties chasing a consolation prize. But all eyes are on Sunday 19 July, at the MetLife Stadium in New York-New Jersey: Spain-Argentina, the final of the first 48-team World Cup. The contrast is perfect: Argentina, the tournament's best attack with 19 goals, against Spain, its best defence, with just one goal conceded in six games. And above all, it is the first on-pitch duel between Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal — the baby a young Messi once cradled in a viral 2007 photo.

History is on the line: Argentina chase a fourth star and a back-to-back world title not achieved since Brazil in 1958-1962; Spain dream of a second crown after 2010. We'll take a couple of nights off and return for the grand finale. See you for the most anticipated weekend of the year.

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