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Lionel Messi will face England in the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in his career, a match-up that has been 40 years in the making. Messi, the 39-year-old Argentinian great, has done everything possible in a glorious career, but never taken on England.

But the diminutive playmaker is surely in the final days of a remarkable international career which began when he was a fresh-faced 18-year-old in 2005. Having broken into the Barcelona team late the previous year, Messi had just starred for Argentina as they won the Under-20 World Cup in the Netherlands. He was handed his Argentina bow by Jose Pekerman in a friendly against Hungary in Budapest that August, replacing Lisandro Lopez in the 64th minute and joining Hernan Crespo up front.

Ninety seconds later he was sent off for what the referee saw as an elbow. It was quite the ignominious way for his Argentina career to begin. "An 18-year-old kid who is making his debut for the national team and has so much hope — he can’t be punished like that. The referee needed to be more understanding," said Crespo.

Messi might look back now and laugh at that incident, which led to him being suspended for a friendly against England in Geneva three months later. The nations have not met since, and so Messi will play against the Three Lions for the very first time under the roof of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

"I have played against everyone except England and it is special because they are a major nation, a powerhouse, and it is always nice to play against a side like that, especially in a World Cup semi-final," said Messi after Argentina beat Switzerland in Kansas City in the last eight.

Messi's Career Stats

Lionel Messi has scored more World Cup goals than any other player, with 21 goals from a tournament record 32 appearances. He had found the net in nine consecutive World Cup matches before the Switzerland game, when he let others — notably Julian Alvarez — take over the goalscoring duties.

Argentina are now one game away from reaching another World Cup final, as they aim to become the first team to retain the trophy since Brazil in 1962. It would be a third final in four World Cups, and Messi could follow in the footsteps of Brazil great Cafu. The full-back played in three in a row from 1994 to 2002 –- even Maradona only played in two.

Nico O'Reilly, who is likely to come up against Messi if he starts at left-back, told BBC Radio 5 Live: "It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He’s coming towards the end of his career. For me personally, he’s the best player to ever touch a football pitch. And yeah, I can’t wait for the challenge."