Messi Watch: 120 minutes, England next

Argentina finally broke Switzerland in the 112th minute, but Messi's day is tighter than the scoreline: one corner assist, no goal, another 120-minute Argentina survival act, and England now set for 03:00 Thursday, 16 July in Asia/Shanghai. 1 2 3

This was not a Messi-goal night. Reuters noted it was his first World Cup match without a goal since Argentina's 2-0 group-stage win over Poland at Qatar 2022, but he still created the opener and nearly settled the tie before extra time. 4 1

The heavier read is fatigue. Argentina have now been dragged through another long knockout game: FIFA's reaction piece says the Switzerland win followed extra time against Cabo Verde and a comeback from 2-0 down against Egypt. Cristian Romero put it plainly: "It seems that we can't win without suffering." 5

Scaloni was not pretending the performance was clean. FIFA quoted him saying Argentina "could have played better" and had "things to improve on", while Alvarez said the team kept pushing because "all the matches at the World Cup have been like that." 1

Messi's next opponent adds a personal twist: Reuters says he has never faced England in his career, and Messi called the semi-final "special" while stressing the need to recover from Argentina's workload. 4

The scoring race did not move in his favour. FIFA's Golden Boot tracker has Kylian Mbappe and Messi level on eight goals, with Mbappe ahead on assists; England's Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham are on six, while seven-goal Erling Haaland is out after Norway's defeat. 6

The semi-final starts with two questions. First, how much is left in Argentina's legs after another 120 minutes? Second, does Scaloni keep the Messi-Alvarez front line after Alvarez delivered the winner, or does Lautaro Martinez's late goal force a selection debate? The answer lands at 03:00 Thursday in Asia/Shanghai.