There was no "Hand of God" this time. Argentina didn't need one. Instead, Lionel Messi's brilliance and the fighting spirit that has defined Argentina throughout this World Cup carried the defending champions into another final.
After trailing 1-0 until the closing minutes, Argentina produced a dramatic comeback to beat England 2-1 on Wednesday, with goals from Enzo Fernandez and substitute Lautaro Martinez.
"I dreamed it, I swear. I told Alexis (Mac Allister) that I was going to score. I told him that I was going to come on and I was going to win it," Martinez said. "I can tell you this team keeps showing what it's made of."
When the final whistle blew, Messi dropped to his knees in celebration as England's players sank to the ground in disbelief.
Argentina has once again ended England's World Cup hopes, adding the 2026 semifinal to memorable victories over England in 1986 and 1998.
"I'm gutted for the team, the staff, the fans," England captain Harry Kane said. "We worked so hard to be here. The lads have given every bit of blood, sweat and tears. To fall short like we did is just gutting."
The defending champions will now face European champion Spain in Sunday's final in East Rutherford, New Jersey, setting up a clash between South America's top team and Europe's best.
For England, the defeat is likely to be remembered alongside painful World Cup exits in 1986, when Diego Maradona's controversial "Hand of God" goal helped Argentina advance, and in 1998, when David Beckham was sent off before England lost on penalties.
This time, however, there was little room for complaints, despite England looking set for victory after Anthony Gordon put his side ahead in the 55th minute.
As the match progressed, England came under increasing pressure. Goalkeeper Jordon Pickford made several crucial saves, while Mac Allister struck the post with a header as Argentina continued to attack.
Messi had been largely contained for much of the game, but once again he made the decisive impact.
He set up Fernandez, who fired home the equaliser from outside the penalty area in the 85th minute. Then, two minutes into stoppage time, Messi delivered a cross that Martinez headed in for the winner.
The comeback seemed to reflect Argentina's resilience throughout the tournament. From matches against Cape Verde to Egypt, Messi and his teammates have repeatedly found ways to recover from difficult situations.
"It is a show of the collectiveness, the brotherhood that we are in, the fight to the very end that we've got," Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. "We were ready to go home, sad, knowing that we had left everything on the pitch, but after they scored we really proved ourselves."
For England, it was another painful semifinal defeat, following losses to Germany in 1990 and Croatia in 2018. It also continued a recent pattern of surrendering winning positions in major tournaments.
England led Croatia 1-0 in the 2018 World Cup semifinal before losing 2-1, and also took a 1-0 lead against Italy in the Euro 2021 final before eventually losing in a penalty shootout.
England coach Thomas Tuchel acknowledged that his team's approach changed after taking the lead.
"Argentina played with more risk, played with more rhythm, played with the feeling maybe that they have nothing to lose anymore, which freed them up and held us back because we played suddenly with a feeling that we have a lot to lose," Tuchel said.
Argentina is now one victory away from retaining the World Cup title. Messi, now 39 and likely appearing in his final World Cup, is also one win away from adding another major achievement to strengthen his claim as one of the greatest footballers in history.
"We're going to try to win, we're going to leave everything out there," Scaloni said. "It's very difficult to get people to understand what these players are showing. It's incredible. We are unique, truly, and it's not arrogance, it's from the heart. We are unique."