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Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

England lost the match when Bellingham confronted Messi. He should’ve done his homework

England was comfortably dominating Argentina in the first half of the World Cup semi-final until Jude Bellingham decided to confront Lionel Messi. And, history repeated itself.

Argentina left yet another match right down to the wire in the 2026 FIFA World Cup against England in the semi-final after defeating them 2-1 early Thursday. The script was kind of similar to their other knockout stories—a tough-earned victory at the end of the game. What came out of the syllabus for the Three Lions, however, was Lionel Messi’s wrath. And blame English midfielder Jude Bellingham for it.  

England was comfortably dominating in the first half until Bellingham decided to confront Messi in the 39th minute. And, history repeated itself—a furious Messi ripping apart the midfield, dictating the tempo, drawing players, passing sublimely and keeping his vow to carry his team across the line.

We have all seen this before. Time and again, whenever a player tried to manhandle Messi with words or tackles, the ‘Little Boy from Rosario’ transformed that physical and verbal pressure into pure magic on the pitch. He lets his feet do the talking. It’s classic Messi.

Bellingham fell for a similar trap—talking rough to Messi when a disagreement broke out among the........

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