‘I never wanted to compare…’: Messi dedicates World Cup semifinal win over England to Maradona | Here's what he said

Lionel Messi has once again proved that age is just a number as he dragged Argentina to their second consecutive FIFA World Cup final and the third of his career after defeating England 2-1 in the semifinal at Atlanta.

After his win, the Argentina captain dedicated the victory to his former coach and the country's number one national icon - Diego Armando Maradona.

“I’m sure Diego is enjoying this so much from up above. It goes for him, this was always a very special day… I’m happy of being able to give him this joy, and I hope he celebrates it however he wants from up there and enjoys it," Messi was quoted as saying by football journalist Fabrizio Romano in a social media post.

“We are lucky to have lived in Diego’s era. I never wanted to compare myself to him, and I know he loved me. I choose to hold on to all the beautiful moments we shared together," Messi added.

Diego Armando Maradona scripted history vs England

Maradona himself was the star performer in the FIFA World Cup 1986 quarterfinal between Argentina and England.

Maradona was at his best and worst as he scored probably the most controversial and best goal in the history of the tournament within a few minutes against England.

He scored the notorious Hand of God goal in the match, where he jumped up in front of the then-England goalkeeper Peter Shilton and punched the ball into the net with his left fist, later acknowledging the act as a goal scored "little by the head of Maradona and a little by the hand of God".

Later, he took his team 2-0 up when he received the ball in the midfield, sprang past two players, and dribbled through the Argentina defence before slotting it past Shilton. This goal came to be known as the Goal of the Century and is to this day regarded as the best goal scored in FIFA World Cup history.

Argentina marches into FIFA World Cup 2026 finals

Argentina once again won the match, coming back from behind. They were down 0-1 till the 85th minute when Enzo Fernandez scored the first goal off a Messi cross. Lautaro Martinez sealed the deal in stoppage time, thanks to a Messi assist once again.

Now Argentina will face Spain in the semifinal on Monday (12:30 am IST) while England will meet France in the third-place match on Sunday (2:30 am IST).

Records galore for Leo Messi

Messi, while helping his team whenever they find themselves in dire straits, is also adding records to his name every time he steps out for his country. This game was no different.

With this win, Messi can now become the second player in the history of the tournament to play in three different finals. The only player with this record is Brazil's Cafu, who played in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 finals. Messi has already played in the 2014 and the 2022 finals, winning the latter.

Messi has now scored or assisted in 13 back-to-back matches for both club and country. This is the second-longest such streak of his career, having earlier done so for 14 games in 2011.

Messi also completed nine dribbles and two assists in the same World Cup knockout game, being the first player on record (since 1966) to do so.

Messi now has 12 assists in FIFA World Cups, with 10 of them coming in the knockout stages itself. The second-highest assists in the tournament is eight (by Maradona).