Argentina's Journey to the Final: Messi and Lautaro Shine Against England

The headline writers in Italy did not need long. “Leo-Lautaro: ecstasy.” Argentina are back in a final, back from the brink, and once again carried there by the old master and his chosen heir for the big moments.

Against England it was the same script, a different twist. Another comeback. Another night where Lionel Messi bent the game to his will and Lautaro Martínez finished it with a punch to the jaw of a rival who thought they had it under control.

England strike, Argentina wake up

England led through Anthony Gordon, and for a long stretch it felt like the sort of game that has haunted Argentina in recent years: slow, cagey, with the clock turning from opponent into enemy. The European side sat on their advantage, compact and disciplined, daring the world champions to find a way through.

They did. They always seem to.

Messi did not dominate for 90 minutes. He did not need to. He waited, he drifted, he probed. Then, late and lethal, he chose his moments.

First came the assist for Enzo Fernández in the 85th minute, the pass that split belief as much as it split England’s defensive lines. Fernández buried it and suddenly the whole match tilted. England, who had looked composed, started to retreat. Argentina, fuelled by that familiar cocktail of desperation and pride, flooded forward.

The pressure told again. Messi, again, found the angle, the weight, the timing. Lautaro, the Inter striker who has made a career of stepping into the light at the decisive second, attacked the space and finished for 2-1. A simple movement, a ruthless strike. It was enough.

He broke into tears. Not the first time, probably not the last, but this one carried the feel of a man who knows exactly what it means to drag his country to another final.

The head of El Toro

In England they still talk about the “hand of God” 40 years on. In Italy, the morning papers talk about the “head of El Toro.” The symbolism is not subtle.

Forty years after Diego Maradona rewrote football mythology, another Argentine No. 10 is still bending tournaments around him, and another star in blue and white is writing his own line in the country’s folklore. Messi’s assist, Lautaro’s goal: a combination that has become both predictable and unstoppable on nights like this.

Argentina now go to East Rutherford on Sunday to face Spain, the European champions, with their World champions status on the line. One trophy against another. One style against another. Spain, as the Italian press underline, are not trembling. Luis de la Fuente has built a system that wins, a structure drilled and refined, with “lessons and secrets” that have carried them through their own side of the draw with authority.

Argentina bring something else. Structure, yes, but also chaos. Personality. The certainty that, even when they are behind, the game is never really over while Messi is still walking, still looking, still waiting for the pass that changes everything.

Inter’s man at the heart of it

For Inter, this is a summer of confirmation. Lautaro Martínez is not just their captain and their symbol; he is now the man deciding the biggest international games, again and again. The Italian front pages underline it: the Inter star, the Inter ace, the Inter striker who broke England and sent Argentina through.

His goal, his tears, his celebration – they all echo back to Milan, where he returns as a world champion and, whatever happens against Spain, as a player who has put his stamp on another major tournament.

The Italian refereeing world, meanwhile, has its own storm. An investigation into officiating has seen Gianluca Rocchi and Inter officially dismissed from the case, a line under a story that had threatened to drag the club into off-field controversy. For Inter, the message is clear: focus back on the pitch, where their captain is deciding semi-finals.

Spain await, Europe watches

So now it is Spain. A final that feels like a clash of eras as much as a clash of teams. The possession machine from Europe against the emotional, relentless holders of the world crown. De la Fuente’s drilled unit against Messi’s last great charge and Lautaro’s ruthless edge.

Italy, as ever, watch with a mixture of admiration and calculation. The future of their own national team circles around familiar names. Paolo Maldini, back in the conversation as a key decision-maker, wants Andrea Pirlo as the next coach. The ball, as one front page put it, is in Giovanni Malagò’s court, with Serie A clubs still harbouring doubts over the choice.

Transfer stories swirl around the final as well. Juventus are working on funds for Lucumí, talking to Franck Kessié’s camp and edging closer to a deal for Parma’s young striker. Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario has been contacted by Luciano Spalletti’s staff as an alternative to Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez, who remains the first choice in goal but is complicated by Aston Villa’s stance.

Inter, fresh from Lautaro’s heroics, are pushing on with an “blitz” for Djed Spence and Romero. Milan wrestle with Christian Pulisic’s agitation and the temptation of Nicolò Zaniolo. Torino’s fans, furious with their club’s direction, have let their anger explode. Fabrizio Ravanelli, never one to hide an opinion, urges Juventus to “sign Emegha, enough of Vlahovic.” Even Rasmus Højlund finds his name in the mix, pictured embracing Massimiliano Allegri.

All of it, though, feels like background noise for one more night.

On Sunday, at East Rutherford, Argentina walk out with Messi and Lautaro at the front of the line, Spain standing in their way, and the football world asking the same question: can this team, driven by an eternal No. 10 and the head of El Toro, confirm once more that they are still the standard everyone else is chasing?