​England did what Algeria, Austria, Jordan, Cape Verde and Egypt all failed to do. Lionel Messi didn’t score. The greatest goalscorer in World Cup history took only one shot and it didn’t trouble Jordan Pickford. England harried him, frustrated him and badgered him out to the right wing. But there they discovered a truth: that goals are just one strand of his multifarious brilliance. Messi created one, then another, and sent England back across the Atlantic.Messi’s assist for Argentina’s equaliser may have been a routine pass to Enzo Fernandez, but his sheer presence had already dragged England defenders across, out of shape, leaving holes to puncture. His assist for Argentina’s winner was sheer brilliance, driving down the right wing and floating a cross perfectly over John Stones’ desperate leap before dropping precisely onto the forehead of Lautaro Martinez.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMessi barely had a kick for an hour, and left Atlanta with the man of the match award. Now he marches – or perhaps walks – on to another World Cup final. Only one man, Cafu, has played in three finals and Messi will match that feat on Sunday.Lionel Messi consoles Harry Kane at the full-time whistle (Reuters)Messi’s first, in Johannesburg in 2010, caused him nightmares for years afterwards. Messi missed a crucial one-on-one with Manuel Neuer, before Mario Gotze scored Germany’s winner in extra time. It would be 12 years until he returned to the final, scoring twice in Doha and rolling home the most audacious penalty in the shootout to finally lay hands on the trophy he most prized, laying to rest the ghosts that haunted him.Having spent so many frustrating years chasing international success, facing scrutiny and criticism at home in Argentina, he might now bow out with a second World Cup to go with those two late-career Copa America glories. Messi’s career can essentially be broken into two halves: a spell for Barcelona that altered how football is played, how it is understood; and a spell for Argentina to alter how history is written, how his story will be told.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe was kicked to the fringes for much of this semi-final in Atlanta, squeezed out of the middle of the pitch. Within five minutes, Elliot Anderson and Harry Kane crunched him between their bodies. Then Djed Spence snapped in and won the ball and when Messi didn’t get the free-kick, he gave referee Ismail Elfath a scowl. Anderson took a yellow card knocking him down in full flight, the briefest glimpse of Messi’s quick feet in a quiet first half.Messi battles England’s Elliot Anderson in midfield (Reuters)But in hindsight, perhaps England’s greatest mistake was to score a goal. They retreated back onto the edge of their own box – a tournament trait as English as eating fish and chips – and they stopped pressing, counter-attacking or playing much football at all. It was a tactic Tuchel had succeeded with in Mexico City a coupl