Messi vs Bellingham could be the story of the World Cup semifinal between England and Argentina

ATLANTA (AP) — It's England vs. Argentina in the World Cup semifinals. It's also Lionel Messi vs. Jude Bellingham.

The battle of the two No. 10s could be pivotal to deciding Wednesday's match in Atlanta.

“We know how good Messi is,” England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford said of the Argentina great, whose enduring brilliance has been on show again even at the age of 39.

Messi and Bellingham have been inspirational in their teams' respective runs to the final four. And Wednesday's match may well be determined by which one has the biggest say on the day.

Messi is playing England for the first time in his storied career.

“He's scored so many goals and contributed to so many goals as well throughout his career, it's great to finally go up against him,” Pickford said.

Messi is already considered by many to be the greatest soccer player of all time and he seems to be on a mission to settle the debate about where he stands in the history of the sport.

Already the all-time top scorer in the World Cup with 21 goals, he could surpass Argentina icon Diego Maradona by leading his country to back-to-back world titles.

His eight goals in the tournament so far have been pivotal to Argentina's run and his moments of magic have dragged his team through big scares against Cape Verde and Egypt.

“It’s just incredible his campaign, this tournament, how he carries that team it’s just, absolutely incredible,” England coach Thomas Tuchel said of Messi. “There are no words ... left for this kind of achievement, the responsibility and the quality that he shows again in this tournament.”

Argentina's World Cup triumph in 2022 saw Messi emulate Maradona by captaining his country to the title. Maradona lifted the trophy in 1986 and was runner-up with Argentina four years later when it lost to West Germany in the final.

“Trying to draw inspiration from what Diego did is difficult. Only Leo can do that,” said Argentina midfielder Alexis Mac Allister. “Diego is a national icon for us, and hopefully, we can achieve something similar to what that team did.”

England has a talismanic No.10 of its own in the form of Bellingham, who is at the opposite end of his career to Messi.

At the age of 23, Real Madrid star Bellingham is already playing in his second World Cup and his fourth major tournament for England. He has six goals, including two each in the last two rounds against Mexico and Norway.

Not bad for a player who was dropped by Tuchel in the lead-up to the World Cup, prompting debate about whether he'd even be in England's starting XI.

There is no doubt anymore about a player who Tuchel described as "world-class” after two goals against Norway in the quarterfinals.

Bellingham and captain Harry Kane, who also has six goals, have spearheaded England's run to the semifinals.

Tuchel said the duo had delivered “like crazy” at the World Cup.

It is Bellingham, however, who has provided the biggest moments in the last two games.

“We all strongly believe it’s a team sport and no one is doing it alone, but of course we are also relying on the world-class moments of world-class players,” Tuchel said.

Both England and Argentina will need to find a way to limit the impact of each other's big stars.

Tuchel said he had considered trying to man-mark Messi by deploying one player to shadow him throughout the game.

“Everyone knows the spaces where he wants to show up. If you analyze the matches, you feel like he sees stuff just earlier than anyone else on the field,” Tuchel said. “I think we found some patterns in their game, but if you close the patterns he will find maybe a new one and create a new one. That’s a super strength. That’s just what it is.”

If Messi is the main focus of England's attention, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has to contend with the double threat of Bellingham and Kane.

“We’re facing great players, two of the best in the world,” Scaloni said. “We will try our best to neutralize them. We have our weapons and we will try to prevent them from having a good game.”

England vs. Argentina is a fierce rivalry that goes beyond the soccer field, with tensions also relating to the 1982 conflict over the Falkland Islands.

There have been numerous clashes at the World Cup.

Argentina captain Antonio Rattin, whose death was announced on Saturday, was sent off in a bad-tempered quarterfinal match against eventual champion England in 1966.

Maradona scored his infamous “Hand of God” goal in 1986 - and England also felt aggrieved when David Beckham was sent off for kicking out against Diego Simeone in 1998 before losing in a penalty shootout.

Most recently England beat Argentina in the group phase in 2002, with Beckham scoring from the penalty spot.

“If a fixture provides so many iconic moments you cannot just say it’s just another football match, but as a coach we do exactly that,” Tuchel said. “We don’t speak about the historic events. We don’t speak about the iconic moments.”

One of those iconic moments was Maradona's second goal in the 2-1 win against England in the quarterfinals win in 1986 when he dribbled the ball from the halfway line before scoring.

“That will be forever in our hearts. It was just such a beautiful goal,” Scaloni said. "Anybody who loves football will remember that in the best way possible.

“It was just a coincidence that it was against England, but had it been against anybody else, it would have been just as beautiful.”

James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) dribbles the ball during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match against Switzerland in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Jude Bellingham, left, and Harry Kane celebrates England's victory over Norway in a World Cup quarterfinal soccer match in Miami Gardens, Fla., Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates after defeating Switzerland in the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

England's Jude Bellingham (10) celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Norway and England in Miami Gardens, Fla., Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) celebrates scoring their second goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Argentina and Egypt in Atlanta, Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (AP Photo)

CINCINNATI (AP) — Masyn Winn hit a home run and doubled twice and Kyle Leahy gave up three hits and struck out six in five innings as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds 3-0 on Tuesday night.

Riley O’Brien pitched the ninth for his 32nd save. It was the 12th time the Reds have been shut out this season and the Cardinals' ninth shutout win.

It's the first time Winn had two doubles in a game since July 28, 2025 against the Marlins.

Cardinals left fielder Joshua Báez went 0 for 3 with an RBI on a sacrifice fly. He’s now 0 for 17 with seven strikeouts since his three-homer day at Wrigley Field on Saturday.

Leahy (10-4) threw 90 pitches. It was his 10th straight start allowing two earned runs or fewer.

Winn's homer off left-hander Andrew Abbott (6-8) in the fifth put the Cardinals ahead 1-0. It was Winn's fifth homer of the season and his first since July 3. It was also the first homer allowed by Abbott in 23 1/3 innings dating to July 26.

Winn's second double came with one out in the seventh. He scored when José Fermín followed with a double to make the score 2-0.

Abbott, who surrendered one hit and didn't walk a batter through the first 4 1/3 innings, allowed two earned runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out six in 6 1/3 innings.

Jordan Walker singled and scored on Báez's sacrifice fly to extend the Cardinals' lead to 3-0 in the eighth.

Cardinals LHP Matthew Liberatore (5-10, 5.07 ERA) will face Reds RHP Chase Burns (14-2, 2.47) on Wednesday.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

St. Louis Cardinals' Masyn Winn rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Andrew Abbott throws during the second inning of a baseball game between against the St. Louis Cardinals, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Kyle Leahy throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

St. Louis Cardinals' Masyn Winn hits a solo home run in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)