By Nick Mulvenney
ATLANTA, July 15 (Reuters) - Lionel Messi did not add to his eight goals at the tournament as Argentina beat England to reach a second successive World Cup final on Wednesday but the influence of the Albiceleste captain on the team was still profound.
Where other modern greats such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe rely more on individual efforts to try and drag their teams through tough matches, Messi is as much about contributing his incredible skills to the team collective.
When Lautaro Martinez headed home the winning goal in stoppage time at the end of Wednesday's semi-final, the Argentina players ran straight to the corner of the pitch to mob Messi, whose cross had given the striker the opportunity.
The 39-year-old has played every minute of all four of Argentina's knockout games at the tournament, making an art of preserving his energy for the moments that matter.
He scored goals in the tricky 3-2 wins over Cape Verde and Egypt and came up with an assist in the 3-1 extra-time win over Switzerland in the quarter-finals.
His influence on Wednesday's match increased as the match wore on and he really came into his own as Argentina laid siege to the England penalty area after they went 1-0 down in the 55th minute.
Moving out from the centre of the attack to the right wing, he whipped a string of dangerous crosses into the penalty area to create opportunities for his teammates.
It was his pass that found Enzo Fernandez on the edge of the box for the midfielder to lash home the equaliser in the 85th minute, and he scrambled to keep the ball in play before lofting in the cross for Martinez's winner seven minutes later.
Wednesday's assists took his tally to 12 at World Cups, a record that sits alongside his 21 goals at soccer's global showpiece.
They also helped extend his international career at least until Sunday's final against Spain, when he will have the opportunity to sign off -- if that is what he decides -- at the very top of the game he has graced for so long.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Toby Davis)
