Lionel Messi was the star of the show in Argentina's World Cup win over England and Thierry Henry was left stunned by his former Barcelona teammate21:42, 16 Jul 2026Thierry Henry was left stunned by Lionel Messi's performance during Argentina's 2-1 win against England and described it as "unstoppable".‌Messi, 39, has been one of the standout players at this summer's World Cup and was at his brilliant best as he helped his nation come from behind to progress through to Sunday's showpiece final.‌Trailing 1-0 after Anthony Gordon's 52nd-minute strike, Messi appeared to take the game by the scruff of the neck and provided two inch-perfect assists during Argentina's comeback win. Indeed, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner set up Enzo Fernandez's 85th-minute equaliser with a precise pass, before delivering the cross for Lautaro Martinez to head home the winner in stoppage-time.‌It took Messi's record at the 2026 World Cup to eight goals and four assists in seven appearances, and he was later rewarded with the Player of the Match prize for the FIFTH time this tournament.Henry, who was Messi's teammate at Barcelona, heaped praise on him post-match and said that England sent him into "beast" mode after going 1-0 up and scaring Argentina."He reminded us he is human; he missed some penalties, four out of eight," Henry said on Fox Sports. "Then he reminds us again he's not human. I've played with him as you just mentioned. What happens with Leo, sometimes… don't wake up the beast.‌"I've seen him in training… when the coach doesn't call a foul, the coach was like 'stop complaining' when the ball went out. Then you look in his eyes and he switches. He goes and gets the ball and scores three goals in a row by robbing the ball off you. Next time, call a foul!"He's just unstoppable when he goes into that mood. When his team needs him, he raises his game, a guy who played 120 minutes the other day, gets the ball and tries to dribble past everybody… wow."‌Messi is now into his third World Cup final on Sunday against Spain and Henry hasn't ruled out the Inter Miami man from creating another piece of history and going all the way."This is Hollywood stuff. It's almost like when you script that.. it's a movie which won't happen in real life, the director went a bit too far with that one, but Messi writes it," he added."This guy writes history with his feet, though, not with his hands."‌Before Messi stole the show, however, he was involved in an altercation with England's Jude Bellingham.Messi and Bellingham exchanged words after referee Ismail Elfath awarded a foul. The Real Madrid star looked clearly annoyed as he confronted Messi, but the Argentina captain brushed him off with a dismissive wave before turning away. Even as he walked, Messi kept glancing back at Bellingham, nodding as the exchange lingered.Post-match, Bellingham played down the confrontation. "We were discussing a foul actually, but it was nothing bad at all. I'm sure everyone will do their thing and make it a big deal but no, it was nothing big really," he said.Article continues below"I thought it was a foul earlier and he said 'what about the one on me?' and I was just saying, 'you're strong enough to take them.' It's a privilege to play against him, it was nothing like that against him. Obviously I'm on the losing side, it hurts a lot but it a privilege to play against one of the best."Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.Content cannot be displayed without consent