Messi's mission is not yet over!

Lionel Messi had already been crowned World Cup champion in Qatar 2022, but the Argentina captain wrote a new chapter in his remarkable career on Wednesday, leading his national team to a thrilling victory over England in the North American World Cup semifinals.

The defending champions faced difficulties reaching the tournament’s final stage, trailing until the 85th minute after English striker Anthony Gordon scored, before Messi worked his magic. The all-time World Cup top scorer did not score this time, but he created the equalizer for Enzo Fernández and then delivered a cross to Lautaro Martínez, who headed home to seal Argentina’s 2-1 win.

Messi, 39, said after facing England for the first time in his career: “These are special feelings. I think the players felt it too, and this was a match that the Argentine people really wanted us to win, and so did we.” He added, “This matchup remains particularly special.”

Having preserved Albiceleste’s remarkable record of never losing a World Cup semifinal in history, Messi will play in his second consecutive final, and his third in his international career. The South American side is aiming to become the first team to retain the world title since Brazil in 1962.

Messi, who has played 33 matches across six different World Cups, is the only player to have featured in the final where Argentina lost to Germany in 2014, and he will become only the second player, after Brazil’s Cafu, to appear in three finals of the competition. “It’s amazing to play two finals in a row,” Messi said. “We were able to come back when the match was going against what we hoped for. We never stopped believing in ourselves for a moment.”

Many consider Messi the greatest footballer of all time, and the debate may be settled if Argentina successfully defends its world title in Sunday’s final against Spain. Pelé and Maradona each played in only two World Cup finals, with Maradona winning the trophy just once. Messi is also the all-time top scorer in World Cup history with 21 goals, although Frenchman Kylian Mbappé trails him by just one goal and will play on Saturday in the third-place match against England.

The former Barcelona star could have retired from international football with peace of mind after the 2022 World Cup, when Argentina defeated France in the final. However, the legendary player appears to have conserved his energy in recent years for the World Cup, having stepped back from the demanding pace of European football and adapted to the American environment with Inter Miami.

Argentina’s captain will get his chance to face Spain in an official match for the first time, a fixture made unique by the identity of the opponent. Messi moved to Barcelona with his family at the age of 13, lived there for two decades, and left for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.

Two decisive assists provided by Lionel Messi in Wednesday’s 2-1 quarterfinal victory over England place the Argentina captain at the top of the race for the World Cup Golden Boot, awarded to the tournament’s top scorer, as the final two matches approach. Messi has eight goals and four assists, surpassing Mbappé, who has scored eight goals and provided three. Messi will play in the final on Sunday against Spain, while Mbappé has one additional match, the third-place playoff against England on Saturday.

Assists are the first tiebreaker if players are level on goals; the next criterion is the number of minutes played during the tournament, with the player who has played fewer minutes ranked higher. In this regard, Mbappé holds the advantage, having played 666 minutes compared to Messi’s 712, as Argentina needed extra time in two matches.

Mbappé won the Golden Boot at the 2022 World Cup with eight goals, edging out Messi, who scored seven. Messi had never previously won the World Cup top scorer award, but he now holds the all-time record for most goals in the tournament with 21, one ahead of Mbappé.