Every England player’s record against Argentina and a World Cup icon… including three out of five victories for the defenders

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Every England player’s record against Argentina and a World Cup icon… including three out of five victories for the defenders

Five players from the England squad will meet Lionel Messi again when they play Argentina in the 2026 World Cup on Wednesday.

Only one lost in all the games he played against a feared player in football, and three were in the winning team at least half of the games they played against him.

One of the new members of the Three Lions’ squad has hit out at Messi, which sparked outrage 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 is a full record of the players hoping to deny Messi a place in the World Cup final.

Lionel Messi vs Harry Kane record

Kane scored when Tottenham met Barcelona at Wembley Stadium in the Champions League group stage in 2018, but Spurs were 2-0 down at the time and Messi restored Barca’s two-goal lead four minutes later.

One of Messi’s teammates from Argentina, Erik Lamela, stopped Kane and scored again to make it 3-2 with 24 minutes left, Messi’s goal in the 90th minute made it 4-2 as Kane was sent off in the second half.

Tottenham, who would reach the final that season, did better in the second leg at Barcelona, although they fell behind to a seventh-minute opener by Ousmane Dembele.

Messi was sent off 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 vs Marcus Rashford record

Rashford and Messi both started as Barcelona won at Manchester United in the quarterfinals of the Champions League in 2019, with former England defender Luke Shaw scoring a 12th-minute goal to prove the goal.

Two quick goals from Messi put Barcelona 2-0 up on the night after 20 minutes of the second leg, when Philippe Coutinho completed a 4-0 aggregate win. Rashford was taken off during the second half of both legs.

Lionel Messi vs Jordan Henderson record

After coming on two minutes earlier for the injured Naby Keita, Henderson’s Liverpool fell behind after Luis Suarez’s opener in the 2019 Champions League semi-finals.

Messi scored another Suarez goal and scored a late free-kick that left many expecting the second leg at Anfield to be a rout rather than one of the best games in the competition’s history.

With Henderson and Messi captaining their clubs, Liverpool ran out 4-0 winners with two assists from Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose exclusion from the England squad for the final was heavily scrutinized due to their problems at right-back.

Henderson broke his arm in strange circumstances after England’s final win over Mexico but was named on the bench against Norway. Will the 36-year-old be part of another famous result against Messi’s side?

Lionel Messi vs John Stones record

Returned to Norway for the first time since the group stage began, Stones won his final meeting with the 39-year-old.

Manchester City beat PSG 2-1 at home in the 2021 Champions League group stage, recovering after a goal from Kylian Mbappe, who formed part of the attacking trio of Messi and Neymar.

Earlier in the campaign, Stones was an unused substitute and Messi scored PSG’s second goal in a 2-0 home win.

City also fell behind early on at home when Messi scored Barcelona’s goal – set up by Neymar – during the group stage in 2016.

Pep Guardiola’s City ran out 3-1 winners, atoning for a 4-0 defeat at Camp Nou less than two weeks earlier.

Messi scored before setting up Neymar’s goal in that game, although there were circumstances that mitigated the extent of City’s defeat: goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was sent off for handball in the 53rd minute, 1-0.

Argentina soccer player Lionel Messi is looking to his right and gritting his teeth while on the soccer field during the FIFA World Cup 2026 and wearing a blue national team soccer shirt with a black border

Lionel Messi vs Djed Spence record

Do you think Stones’ displays against Messi look promising? Djed Spence has a perfect record against him.

Messi had scored in each of PSG’s last three home league games before Spence featured for the Ligue 1 leaders while on loan at Rennes from Spurs.

PSG were unbeaten at the Parc des Princes in the league that season but were thrashed 2-0 by their rivals, who ended the two-match winning streak for Messi’s side until they had the luxury of Spence’s substitution in the 78th minute.

“All-round performance has seen him win most of his defensive games, as well as giving his team a chance to attack the opposition,” GFFN said 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 final kicks off at 20:00 BST on Wednesday. Here’s how that looks in different locations.