Argentina came from behind once again to book their spot in their second consecutive World Cup final after beating England 2-1 in Atlanta.
The Three Lions put themselves into the lead early in the second half through Anthony Gordon after Morgan Rogers' brilliant ball into the box.
But almost immediately after that, Argentina responded with incredible spirit and determination, just as they did against Cape Verde and Egypt.
Enzo Fernández, who had had two long range efforts go over the bar previously, saw one dip perfectly past Jordan Pickford, after he had made a set of magnificent saves.
And then in stoppage time, after both sides had made several changes, Lautaro Martínez scored a close range header to send Argentina into pandemonium and break England hearts once again.
They will now face Spain in the World Cup final in New Jersey on Sunday.
Argentina show incredible spirit once again to reach second straight final
Argentina have not had it easy at this World Cup.
But each and every time, they have found a way through the game.
An extra time win over Cape Verde, coming back from two goals down against Egypt to win 3-2 and then edging past Switzerland in extra time.
Tonight, they faced a team far better than that when they went a goal down.
But once again, they scored two late goals, simply refusing to give up no matter what is thrown at them.
The two Lionels -- manager Scaloni and superstar Messi -- can take a lot of credit for that.
Today, the Argentinian substitutes changed the game almost in an instant, with Nico Gonzalez, Gonzalo Montiel and Lautaro Martinez making a monumental difference.
That was the doing of Scaloni.
Then there was Messi, a player you just cannot keep out of a game.
His two assists saw Argentina reach their second straight final tonight and the spirit and never say die attitude they have, you would not put it past them to lift the trophy once again.
England had the blue print... and then they didn't
When Anthony Gordon scored for England, it felt like it was finally time for the Three Lions to go that extra step and reach a World Cup final.
Djed Spence was brilliant, Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice had been controlling the midfield and there had been few chances of note at either end.
It really appeared that after all of the near misses, this time England were heading to the final, and maybe the trophy.
But then it was a case of same old, same old for England.
Thomas Tuchel brought on Ezri Konsa for Gordon, who had been a threat all match.
England went into a back three initially, with Spence and Reece James acting as wing backs.
When James was replaced by Dan Burn, it became a back five.
Three minutes later and Argentina equalised.
England did not alter there though, or return to some sort of standard formation, Tuchel stuck to his guns as he so often has done before with success.
This time though, it was a mistake as Lautaro Martinez's header broke England hearts.
Tuchel rushed to launch Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney on in a last gasp effort to take the game to extra time, but it was too little, too late.
Team Line-ups
England:
Jordan Pickford
Reece James (Dan Burn 82'), John Stones (Ivan Toney 96'), Marc Guehi, Djed Spence (Marcus Rashford 96')
Declan Rice (Nico O'Reilly 82'), Elliot Anderson
Morgan Rogers, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon (Ezri Konsa 72')
Harry Kane
Argentina
Emiliano Martinez
Nahuel Molina (Gonzalo Montiel 72'), Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez (Nicolas Otamendi 72'), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lautaro Martinez 81')
Leandro Paredes (Nico Gonzalez 64') Gianluca Simeone (Rodrigo De Paul 72'), Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister, Julian Alvarez
Lionel Messi
Snapshot: Framing the drama
Key stats
- Argentina: 6-2-6 (W-D-L) vs Spain in all competitions; won lone competitive match in the group stage of the 1966 World Cup (2-1)
- Argentina: Seeks back-to-back World Cup titles (also won in 2022); only 2 teams have won consecutive WC titles: Italy in 1934 & 1938, Brazil in 1958 & 1962
- Argentina: With Argentina ranked No.1 and Spain No. 2 in the pre-tournament FIFA rankings, this will be the first FIFA World Cup match to feature the top 2 ranked teams since they were introduced in 1992
- Argentina: Reaches 7th FIFA World Cup final and first time in consecutive World Cups since 1986-90. Ties Brazil for 2nd-most FIFA World Cup final appearances (only Germany has more with 8)
- Lionel Messi (ARG): Assisted on both of Argentina's goals 85', 90'+2; has scored or assisted in 11 straight FIFA World Cup games dating back to 2022, extending the longest such streak on record (last 60 years)
- Messi: 10 FIFA World Cup knockout stage assists; 6 more than any other player on record (last 60 years) - Messi: 33 goal contributions in 33 career World Cup games (21 goals, 12 assists)
- Lautaro Martínez (ARG): Game winning goal 90'+2; 3rd goal this World Cup and second as a substitute - Argentina: Snaps 5-game winless streak vs England in all competitions; 1st win vs England since the 1986 World Cup Quarterfinals
- England: Eliminated in 3 of 4 all-time World Cup semifinals appearances. The only time it advanced was in 1966 (won title at home)
- England: faces France in the 3rd-place playoff game on Saturday - Anthony Gordon (ENG): Goal 55'; 4th career goal with England in all competitions and 3rd in a competitive game (1st in World Cups)
Information from ESPN's Global Sports Research contributed to this story.