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Argentina produced another stunning comeback as the defending champions broke English hearts to reach a second successive World Cup final.
Time appeared to be running out after Anthony Gordon’s opener left Argentina trailing deep into the second half. But the world champions once again dragged themselves back from the brink.
First, Enzo Fernandez let fly from 20 yards to beat Jordan Pickford. Lautaro Martinez then struck in stoppage time to complete another famous victory.
Argentina will face Spain in Sunday’s final as they seek to become only the third nation to retain the World Cup.
There is nothing left for me to say about Lionel Messi that hasn't already been said.
The 39-year-old grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck again and led Argentina over the line in another huge game.
His first assist was a simple one, a five-yard pass to Enzo Fernandez who whipped a 25-yard effort past Jordan Pickford. His second assist was sublime, a cross on his weaker right foot perfectly onto the head of Lautaro Martinez.
Messi, who you can see there picking up his fifth Player of the Match award of the tournament, is now the runaway favourite to win the World Cup Golden Ball (tournament MVP) — it would be the third of his career.
Oh, and he's leading the Golden Boot race.
Major-tournament exits often spell the end of several England careers, and it will be interesting to see which players choose to retire or are dropped before the next one, the home European Championship in 2028.
Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is 32, and though he will probably want to reach 100 caps (he has 91 at the moment) he may be phased out.
Despite a strong tournament here, John Stones is the same age and his continued involvement for England could rest on where he goes next after leaving Manchester City. Harry Maguire missed out on this World Cup and will be 35 when Euro 2028 kicks off on home soil.
Jordan Henderson, 36, will probably not be seen in an England shirt again, though striker Harry Kane will almost certainly march on.
It's hard to say where England go from here, especially with the sting of defeat still so fresh. At this point, Saturday's third-place play-off against France will feel like a prolonging of their shortcomings.
They do rely heavily on captain Harry Kane, who is still at the top of his game but turns 33 later this month. Maybe Kane looked at 39-year-old Lionel Messi tonight and decided that he would want to do the same for his country.
Kane aside, there are players who look destined to wear an England shirt for years to come: Jude Bellingham, of course, as well as Elliot Anderson, Nico O'Reilly, and Morgan Rogers.
The next major tournament, Euro 2028, will take place partly on home soil; England, as co-hosts and back-to-back finalists, will surely start among the favorites.
Once the dust settles on another painful major-tournament defeat for England, I hope it is seen as a positive World Cup performance.
Yes, they arrived as the fourth-highest-ranked team in the world and yes, every team they beat were comfortably below them in those rankings but getting to the latter stages of these tournaments is no given.
England are making a habit of getting to the business end at the European Championship and the World Cup and now need to find a way to get over the line.
They were undone today by a mentality that doesn't serve them well every time they lead in matches of this magnitude. Tuchel's substitutions were negative but, as he identified, the slide towards their own goal was already in full effect.
Whether or not he will lead them into Euro 2028 on home soil remains to be seen but, despite defeat, all the signs lead to England cracking the code soon on the biggest stage.
Prince William, who was president of the English Football Association (FA) from 2006 to 2024, posted on X after the late defeat.
💬 “Gutted. England, you gave it everything and we are all so proud of you.
“Thank you to everyone on and off the pitch, for an incredible tournament. The fight and belief you have shown has inspired us all. The most complete England team in a tournament. Hold your heads high.”
Knicks star Josh Hart, whose New York team staged several dramatic comebacks en route to their NBA Finals triumph last month, with an apt comparison earlier on.
Argentina = Knicks
There have only been two instances of World Cup semi-finals this century where a team scored first but did not go through to the final.
Both of them involved England.
They squandered a 1-0 second-half lead against Croatia in 2018 and did so again to Argentina today.
This is remarkable to think about: Lionel Messi and Argentina have two “play-off” wins at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the past week — that is two more play-off wins in Mercedes-Benz Stadium than the Atlanta Falcons have.
The stadium opened in 2017.
This was as tough a game to referee as they come, and American official Ismail Elfath did all he could to keep control of everyone on the pitch, including himself.
Referees’ principal aim in the opening stages of such high-pressure matches is to keep the temperature at a manageable level. By the first hydration break, the free-kick count was already in double figures, but Elfath had kept his yellow card in his pocket.
The received wisdom is that this is the best approach, because if you go too early and set the threshold too low, problems can mount. Of course, it comes with the risk that the players get frustrated and start taking matters into their own hands.
A yellow card apiece for each side followed, with the first being waved around indiscriminately before eventually being shown to Elliot Anderson.
Poor technique aside, the general approach worked for Elfath, as evidenced by a second half in which he went about his work largely unnoticed.
He becomes the first referee to come through this fixture at a World Cup unscathed, with neither side being able to claim that a decision cost them the match.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham has had his say on England's semi-final exit.
💬 “It is heartbreaking to be so close. The players and Thomas (Tuchel) gave it everything today and the squad, coaches and staff could not have worked harder during the tournament.
“I would like to thank them all — and also give my heartfelt thanks to our wonderful fans here in the USA and at home. We felt your support every step of the way and we are all so disappointed not to go further.”
England matched the best finish they've had at a World Cup since winning it all in 1966, but will go no further than that.
They’ve now lost their last three World Cup semi-finals, in 1990, 2018 and 2026.
At least their appearances at this stage of the tournament are becoming more frequent than they used to be.
More from Tuchel in his post-match press conference, discussing his side's tactics.
💬 “I think it was a very close match. (I'm) happy the way we played it, very close match, took advantage and went 1-0 up. At that point (the lead was) deserved, not undeserved. Unfortunately and strangely enough it came with a momentum shift. Argentina played with more risk.
“We suddenly played with a feeling that we had a lot to lose. We dropped into a deep block which isn’t a problem, but we struggled to (win) any duels, (have) any ball possession anymore.”
Thomas Tuchel was asked about the criticism in his post-match press conference.
💬 “I believe that’s just nature of the game. As soon as you lose you get criticised. It’s what it is.
“No one knows what would have happened if we made different decisions. I made them, I take the criticism. It is what it is.”
England went to a back five in this game two minutes earlier than they did in the Mexico match (74 vs 72 minutes). It’s as simple as that.
Argentina completed three of 11 crosses up until that Ezri Konsa sub, and those chances were worth 0.3 expected goals (so not much at all).
From 73 minutes onwards, Argentina made three more chances from eight crosses, worth 1.34 xG.
Alexis Mac Allister headed against the post and there became an uncomfortable inevitability about Argentina’s attacking play.
Reaching the final four of the World Cup might, on the face of it, not seem like a disaster for this England side, especially given the way they were playing in the build-up.
But it's the manner in which they bowed out that ultimately proved so disappointing, and that pain will linger for England fans. It takes a long time to right your wrongs in international football.
Tuchel has the players at his disposal to challenge the best teams in the world. Clearly, the main lesson today — an achingly familiar one for England — is on game management and closing out matches.
Only time will tell if that lesson gets heeded by this manager and this generation of players.
Of course, English footballing culture dictates there will be an introspective review of what went wrong as the country fell short again.
And much blame should, and will, be placed squarely on the shoulders of head coach Thomas Tuchel.
For all the talk of him being an elite tactical coach with an elite mentality, he oversaw a damaging England second-half retreat .
Whether any changes will be made to the way Tuchel does things — or whether the FA retains trust in him to lead England into the next major tournament — remains to be seen.
Former England striker Michael Owen has had his say on X about England's performance.
Watch Spain at 1-0 last night. That’s courage. That’s bravery. And then watch England at 1-0. What’s the difference?
We are a better team than Argentina, I’ve no doubt in my mind. But we deserved to get beat in the end. In fact, it could have been 4-1.
Bringing on 3 defenders at…
Today marked Harry Kane’s 121st appearance in all competitions for England, now the most of any outfield player in England national team history.
Will it be the last time we see the legendary striker on the World Cup stage?
💬 “Playing for England means more to me than anything else.”
Argentina did not get an equaliser until the 85th minute against England, then scored the winner in the second minute of stoppage time.
That makes this match the latest a team has been behind in a World Cup semi-final but gone on to win in normal time.
Quite the collapse for England.
Team Stats
ENG
ARG
Game Details