Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- England faces Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday with a World Cup final spot at stake in their most bitter rivalry.
- Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have combined for 12 of England's 13 goals while Lionel Messi has scored eight of Argentina's 16.
- Follow the live tracker for real-time stats, lineups and play-by-play as these defending champions battle for a place in the championship match.
With all due respect to Spain and France in the first semifinal on Tuesday afternoon, the main event arrives in Atlanta on Wednesday, as England faces Argentina with a spot in the World Cup final on the line. But really, this is about much more than that, as it always is any time these teams meet in a competitive match — this is the most bitter rivalry in world soccer, built over half a century of bad blood and real-life conflict.
The Three Lions enter this match fresh off a dramatic quarterfinal win over Norway, knowing that this is the best chance they've had in decades to bring home their country's first major trophy since 1966. It hasn't always been smooth sailing for Thomas Tuchel's side, but they survived a scare against DR Congo and a trip to the Azteca and have found backbone where previous English teams have wilted. Harry Kane remains at the top of his game, Jude Bellingham has somehow reached a whole new level and everythign is finally coming together at just the right time. Now all that's standing between them and a World Cup final is the greatest player of all time.
Of course, Lionel Messi is far from his peak at the age of 39. But don't tell that to his opponents, who haven't been able to find a way to keep him off the score sheet yet. La Albiceleste have seldom looked the part of favorites at this tournament, narrowly escaping both Cabo Verde and Egypt before getting a huge helping hand from VAR in the quarterfinal against Switzerland. But no one's been able to knock out the defending champs yet, and when you've got Messi, anything is possible.
Follow along with England vs. Argentina with the latest score, stats and plays from our live tracker.
England vs. Argentina live score
Match tracker
Match stats
Play-by-play
Lineups
Match odds
Match and team props
Prop | Odds | Halftime Results | Fulltime Results |
|---|---|---|---|
Both teams to score | Yes (-130), No (+100) | No | |
First goal | England (+100), Argentina (+115), No Goal (+600) | No goal | |
England goals | Under 1.5 (-258), Over 1.5 (+173) | Under | |
Argentina goals | Under 0.5 (+171), Over 0.5 (-255) | Under | |
England shots | 12+ (+105) | 2 | |
Argentina shots | 11+ (+100) | 1 |
It hasn't always been pretty for England's attack, but they've scored multiple goals in five of their six World Cup matches to date, including two against Norway in the quarterfinal and three in the road win over Mexico in the round of 16. The scoreless draw against Ghana (not to mention nervy wins over both Panama and DR Congo) are evidence that the Three Lions can get bogged down a bit when they can't find their two stars up top, but they're playing with more and more confidence.
Argentina, meanwhile, have scored three goals in five of their six matches at this tournament — though that statistic feels a bit misleading. They added two in extra time against both Cabo Verde and 10-man Switzerland, and they were held scoreless by Egypt until a late flurry in the second half.
Player props
Goals and shots
Player | Anytime goalscorer | Shots | Shots on target | Halftime Results | Fulltime results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lionel Messi | +125 | 4+ (-105) | 2+ (-125) | 1 | |
Harry Kane | +130 | 4+ (+140) | 2+ (+105) | 0 | |
Jude Bellingham | +270 | 3+ (-105) | 2+ (+210) | 0 | |
Julian Alvarez | +310 | 3+ (+155) | 1+ (-190) | 0 | |
Anthony Gordon | +500 | 2+ (-130) | 1+ (+100) | 0 |
A striking statistic: Of the 13 goals England has scored at this World Cup, a whopping 12 of them have come from either Kane or Bellingham — six apiece. The Three Lions haven't been able to find much firepower from their wingers of yet, but Kane and Bellingham are awfully tough to deny in the box, and they'll look to exploit a vulnerable Argentine back line on Wednesday.
You don't need me to tell you who leads the way for Argentina, as Messi has scored eight of his team's 16 goals to date — a total that has him tied with the since-eliminated Kylian Mbappé in the Golden Boot race. Messi isn't the all-consuming force he once was, but he knows how to get to his spots, and he's still a lethal finisher when his teammates are able to find him. If they can't, it will be on players like Julián Álvarez (one goal) and Lautaro Martinez (two goals) to pick up the slack.
Assists
Player | Odds | Results |
|---|---|---|
Lionel Messi | 1+ (+290) | |
Declan Rice | 1+ (+450) | |
Harry Kane | 1+ (+500) | |
Jude Bellingham | 1+ (+500) | |
Anthony Gordon | 1+ (+550) |
Six of England's 10 assists so far have come from wingers Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka, who have been instrumental in feeding Kane and Bellingham in the middle. Declan Rice is also always a threat with his quality service ability.
Messi (who else?) is the only Argentine with multiple assists at this World Cup, but eight other players have tallied one, which goes to show just how utilitarian this attack has been.
*Props via DraftKings
More World Cup news and analysis:
Add us as a preferred source on Google