Five players in England’s squad will be meeting Lionel Messi again if they feature against Argentina at the World Cup 2026 on Wednesday.
Only one has lost all of the games they have played against the most feared player in football, while three have been on the winning side in at least half of their encounters with him.
One of the newer members of the Three Lions’ group has already beaten Messi, securing a huge upset shortly before the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner left Paris Saint-Germain for current club Inter Miami.
From John Stones to Harry Kane, here’s the full record among the players hoping to deny Messi a place in the World Cup final.
Lionel Messi record vs Harry Kane
Kane scored when Tottenham met Barcelona at Wembley Stadium during the Champions League group stage in 2018, but Spurs were 2-0 behind by that time and Messi restored Barca’s two-goal cushion four minutes later.
One of Messi’s Argentina teammates, Erik Lamela, set up Kane and scored himself to make the scoreline 3-2 with 24 minutes remaining, only for Messi’s 90th-minute goal to seal a 4-2 win in which Kane was booked during the second half.
Tottenham, who would reach the final that season, fared better in the return match in Barcelona, although they fell behind to a seventh-minute opener by Ousmane Dembele.
Messi was substituted in the 63rd minute. In his absence, Kane set up Lucas Moura to earn Spurs a 1-1 draw five minutes from time.
Lionel Messi record vs Marcus Rashford
Rashford and Messi both started as Barcelona won at Manchester United in the Champions League quarter-finals in 2019, when former England full-back Luke Shaw’s 12th-minute own-goal proved the only goal.
Two quickfire Messi goals put Barcelona 2-0 ahead on the night after 20 minutes of the return match, in which Philippe Coutinho completed a 4-0 aggregate win. Rashford was substituted during the second half of both legs.
Lionel Messi record vs Jordan Henderson
Having come on two minutes beforehand for the injured Naby Keita, Henderson’s Liverpool fell behind to a Luis Suarez opener in the Champions League semi-finals in 2019.
Messi set up another Suarez goal and scored a late free-kick to leave many expecting the second leg at Anfield to be a formality rather than one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the competition.
With Henderson and Messi captaining their clubs, Liverpool swept to a sensational 4-0 win featuring two assists from Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose exclusion from England’s squad for these finals has come under greater scrutiny because of their problems at right-back.
Henderson broke his arm in bizarre circumstances after England’s last-16 win against Mexico but was named on the bench against Norway. Will the 36-year-old be part of another famous result against a Messi team?
Lionel Messi record vs John Stones
Restored against Norway for the first time since the start of the group stage, Stones has won his last two meetings with Messi and started on all three occasions when he has faced the 39-year-old.
Manchester City beat PSG 2-1 at home in the Champions League group stage in 2021, recovering after an early goal from Kylian Mbappe, who formed part of a superstar attacking trio with Messi and Neymar.
City also fell behind early on at home when Messi scored for Barcelona – set up by Neymar – during the group stage in 2016.
Pep Guardiola’s players proceeded to win 3-1, atoning for a 4-0 defeat at Camp Nou less than two weeks earlier.
Messi scored a hat-trick before setting up a Neymar goal in that match, although there were mitigating circumstances for the margin of City’s defeat: goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was sent off for handball in the 53rd minute, with the scoreline 1-0.
Lionel Messi record vs Djed Spence
Think Stones’ showings against Messi seem promising? Djed Spence has a perfect record against him.
Messi had scored in each of PSG’s previous three home league matches before Spence showed up at the Ligue 1 leaders while on loan to Rennes from Spurs.
PSG had been unbeaten at the Parc des Princes in the league that season but suffered a shock 2-0 defeat to their opponents, who completed a double over Messi’s team and even had the luxury of taking Spence off in the 78th minute.
“An all-action performance that saw him win the majority of his defensive duels, as well as offering a constant outlet for his team’s counter-attacks,” GFFN purred at the time, calling Spence “unstoppable down the right”.
World Cup 2026: When is England vs Argentina?
The first competitive meeting between the two countries since the 2002 finals starts at 20:00 BST on Wednesday. Here’s how that looks in different territories.
| Date | BST start time | ET | PT |
| Weds, July 15 | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 |
Where to watch England vs Argentina: TV channel, live online stream
In the UK, live TV coverage is on BBC One.
Streaming on a vast range of devices is available through the BBC iPlayer app and BBC Sport website.
Source for data: Transfermarkt
