• Argentina vs. England: It’s 0-0 at halftime at this World Cup semifinal in Atlanta. Both teams have had chances but have yet to bag that crucial opener
• Messi’s debut vs. England: In all of his 205 games for Argentina, this is the first time Lionel Messi has ever faced the Three Lions. The 39-year-old has scored eight goals, tying him with France’s Kylian Mbappé for the most at this tournament
• Spain awaits in the final:The winner of today’s semifinal will meet La Roja, which beat France 2-0 yesterday to book their trip to MetLife Stadium on July 19
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The whistle comes at the end of a tense, physical half that has seen fewer shots on goal than fouls
England and Argentina have each had their moments to score, but neither team is willing to concede the opening goal
The second half could come down to which team finds themselves more comfortable playing while exhausted. Good thing the stadium is covered and the air conditioning is pumping
Argentina’s Lionel Messi, left, and England’s Elliot Anderson compete for the ball.
Elliot Anderson has been all over the pitch in this first half and has to be England’s player of the game so far
He just pinches a ball away from Argentina as we head into injury time and now the Three Lions ping the ball around the Albiceleste final third but it ends in nothing
Anderson might have a yellow card from a foul on Leo Messi, but it might be wise for Thomas Tuchel to leave him in despite the threat of him being sent off
Lionel Messi is trying to get into this game but without much luck so far
The 39-year-old is dropping deeper into midfielder to try and have some say in proceedings but is being crowded out by England’s midfielders
Elliot Anderson is the man tasked with keeping him quiet but in one of his opening duels with the Argentine great, the Manchester City man brings him down which results in the first yellow card of the match
England has been the better team so far here and the atmosphere reflects it
The Argentinian fans largely drowned out the opposition in the opening moments, but the English fans have been encouraged by their squad rising to Argentina’s challenge in the opening phase
Of course, all of that changes with a crunching tackle on Lionel Messi, resulting in a yellow card for Elliot Anderson. The Argentines here reacted as if a family member had been assaulted in front of their very eyes
A close shot from Enzo Fernández has them back in full voice once again and the English once again fade into background noise
England’s Jordan Pickford leaps as a shot from Enzo Fernández goes over the crossbar.
Enzo Fernández delivers the first warning shot to England with a beautiful dipping strike that just goes above Jordan’s Pickford’s net
It’s the closest Argentina has come to opening the scoring in this contest
The midfielder has blown hot and cold for his club side Chelsea this season but it’s on the international stage where the 25-year-old tends to perform his best, turning up in the right place at the right time
His pass rate is over 90% in the tournament and he has already come up trumps at this tournament, arguably scoring his country’s most important goal of the tournament – A dramatic header to seal an extraordinary 3-2 comeback against Egypt in the last 16
Should Argentina make it to Sunday’s final, the Chelsea star could complete the double of winning the Club World Cup and the World Cup in New York in successive summers
England’s Jude Bellingham dribbles away from Argentina’s Giuliano Simeone.
Jude Bellingham does incredibly well to get the ball and draw a foul from Enzo Fernández to get a free kick close to the Argentina goal
Declan Rice stands over the ball and puts it into the box where John Stones gets his head to it. During all that though, there was a very iffy looking takedown of an England player in the area that would have been interesting for VAR to look at given some of the other decisions taken in this World Cup
It’s still on a razor’s edge, but England definitely seems to be growing into this
Per the stats gurus at Opta, England versus Argentina is the first FIFA World Cup match on record (since 1966) not to see a single shot in the first 30 minutes
England aren’t exactly pulling up trees here, considering that the previous record for the longest wait for a shot was England’s last match against Norway in Miami this past Saturday (29th min)
One side of this fantastic stadium has windows that are open to a glowing billboard outside
It’s rotating ads, but one name keeps popping up on the regular rotation: Lamine Yamal
Facing the Spanish sensation, only 19 and one of the best players in the world, and his team is the reward for winning this match. It’s a solid reminder of the stakes here – this match feels like a final, but there’s still one massive game to play in New Jersey after this
You have to imagine Yamal and his compatriots are enjoying watching some of these crunching tackles and gut-busting runs from the comfort of their hotel this afternoon. These teams will definitely take a chunk out of each other before turning to Spain
England manager Thomas Tuchel reacts to a play in the first half.
Manager Thomas Tuchel is getting very (very) frustrated with the lack of calls going England’s way
Argentina’s physical style clearly doesn’t cross the line as far as the officials are (currently) concerned
England’s Elliot Anderson, left, competes for the ball with Argentina’s Enzo Fernández.
It’s been a slow burner of a match with very few patterns of play in a cagey opening 20 or so minutes
Argentina’s midfield has been compact and quick to swarm around Jude Bellingham and Elliot Anderson, denying them space to get the ball out wide to danger wide men, Antony Gordon and Morgan Rogers
Lionel Scaloni will be happy with the relatively slow pace of the game in preventing Thomas Tuchel’s from getting into any sort of meaningful rhythm
Every single member of Argentina’s starting XI was a World Cup winner in 2022 so if any team knows how to navigate the cauldron of a high-intensity atmosphere and win by the barest of margins it’s this team
Players argue after a foul in the first half.
It’s crazy that we fans sit thousands of miles away with butterflies in our stomachs while the players actually doing the thing look so focused
That’s certainly the case so far, with both teams looking dedicated to their separate game plans
So much has been made of the rivalry between these two, including the broader political context that extends far beyond the soccer pitch. And from those early stages, it feels like that bad blood runs deeper for Argentina than it does for England
The South Americans practically screamed their national anthem and then set about reminding England players that they’re in for a battle with several aggressive challenges. It’s clear what Argentina’s game plan is. It wants to throw England off its game
The Three Lions, though, look composed so far. None of the players were born when this rivalry started, but there’s going to be some beef soon if those late Argentina tackles don’t stop
We were expecting fireworks and that’s what we’ve got so far. Both teams are so imperfect that this has all the makings of a brilliant semifinal
The hydration break has never been so needed because this game has been played at 1,000 mph
Action has resumed after the hydration break and we’re still waiting for the scoring to open up
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The first half hydration break has arrived. This one has all the makings of a chippy back-and-forth
Neither team has shied away from physicality, as both the Three Lions and the Albiceleste fight to be the ones to set the tone early on
Argentina’s Lionel Messi, left, is defended by England’s Elliot Anderson.
Both England and Argentina have had to do it the hard way, coming from behind in multiple matches between them to advance to the semifinals
And the first goal in this contest — and surely there will be at least one goal — feels so crucial inside here at Atlanta Stadium, which is pulsating with energy
England have arguably had the better of the early exchanges, so a goal would validate their work thus far, but a strike from Argentina could deflate The Three Lions and make them feel, “here we go again”, which has been the lament for the past 60 years
England is defending well whenever the action gets to its final third, but so is Argentina. Everywhere else on the pitch, it’s a foul-fest
Anthony Gordon had a good move across the top of the box, but he ran into a number of Argentine defenders and nothing came of it
Djed Spence then takes the ball down the left side of the box in the 18th minute and it’s put out for a goal kick. Then Reece James has a run down the right in the 20th minute and his shot is stopped by Emi Martínez
What a tight, tight affair and Mick Jagger – who is in attendance and looks as nervous as Ben Church – is not pleased
Argentina’s Julián Alvarez, left, and England’s Reece James compete for the ball.
It’s been a very stop-start affair so far with plenty of tackles flying in and there hasn’t yet been a lot of rhythm about Argentina’s play
One thing that is noticeable is how high Julián Alvarez has been pushed up alongside Lionel Messi
The Atlético Madrid forward is partnering the Argentine great to in an effort to push back England’s defensive line and draw out the center backs to create that space the magical Messi craves
Space, though, has been at a premium so far with neither forward yet to make any inroads in England’s final third
Michael Owen dribbles past Argentina’s José Chamot during the World Cup in 1998.
We’ve hit the 16-minute mark and it has special significance for me in this rivalry
This was the moment in the Argentina vs. England quarterfinal in St. Etienne at France ’98 where I was sitting next to Michael Owen’s mom as we witnessed her 18-year-old son score what he’s since described as “the goal that changed my life.”
Owen picked up a great chipped David Beckham pass, ran past José Chamot and Roberto Ayala and produced an epic finish past Carlos Roa into the back of the net. It has widely been described as one of the greatest goals in World Cup history
Incredibly, it was the third goal of that game, putting England up 2-1, and we’re still 0-0 here in Atlanta
I’m not sure if the Three Lions are currently in a better or worse position here in Mercedes-Benz Stadium as tensions are threatening to spill over on the pitch
I am not sure my hearing will be the same after this
The Argentines made a fantastic roar at kickoff and have carried the noise through the opening minutes. The tension in here is palpable and both fanbases are screaming out their nerves
Honestly, I’m feeling nerves in my stomach and I have no rooting interest in this one
Joey Freeman, right, is taking in the match from the Black Lion pub in west London.
You may think history would hang heavy in the air in England today, with a decades-long rivalry with Argentina surfacing
Yet, at the Black Lion pub in west London, the past has been swept away by a wave of pure, giddy optimism
One fan, Joey Freeman, tells me with great confidence that the final score will be 3-0 to England
“It’s our biggest game since 1966, Messi’s probably the best player to ever grace the planet, but I believe we’re going to do it,” he told me
Could it finally be coming home, after 60 years of hurt?
England fans are nothing if not optimistic, and nothing, not even Messi, is dampening their spirits – or their chants
