In the second World Cup semifinal, England struck first, taking a 1-0 lead early in the second half and then retreating into a defensive shell. Argentina responded by pummeling the English wall until it had scored two late goals, one in the 85th minute and the second in stoppage time, both orchestrated by the great Lionel Messi, and secured a 2-1 win.
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Argentina now plays Spain in the final on Sunday, with a chance to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cup titles.
World Cup Recap
Argentina scored twice in about seven minutes to come from behind and beat old foe England, with two assists from 39-year-old superstar Lionel Messi.
England was minutes away from its first World Cup final in 60 years after Anthony Gordon’s 55th-minute goal. But a long-range strike from Enzo Fernández, who plays for Chelsea in the English Premier League, and a header from substitute Lautaro Martínez sealed a turnaround in Atlanta as dramatic as La Albiceleste’s comeback win over Egypt in the round of 16 in the same stadium.
England started well, albeit with little to show for it. A gnarly, scrappy, ultraphysical first half saw 19 combined fouls and zero shots on goal. It was the first World Cup game since 1966, when England won the tournament it hosted, with zero shots on target halfway through. Argentina could not pass its way through England, with Elliot Anderson as an effective screen in front of the defense.
England’s undoing actually arose from coach Thomas Tuchel’s defensive tactics after it took the lead, substituting in extra defenders as early as the 72nd minute and retreating into a deep 5-4-1 formation.
England lacked an outlet and held only 12% of possession between Gordon’s opener and Martínez’s stoppage-time winner. It was a meek surrender. The only team with a lower possession percentage in that same time frame at this tournament was Qatar, which lost 6-0 to Canada when it was reduced to nine players.
Forty years after another iconic Argentine No. 10, Diego Maradona, led his side to a 2-1 victory over England in a World Cup knockout match, Messi walked around imperiously. His nine completed dribbles and two assists mean he became the first player on record to do so in a single World Cup knockout game. England had seven touches in Argentina’s penalty box in the entire game. Messi alone had seven touches in England’s box.
FIFA ranks Argentina as the world’s top team, and England’s recent tournament record against the top teams is poor. Since 1998, England has been eliminated every time it has come up against a top-10 nation in the knockout stages of the World Cup.
The Three Lions have now lost in the semifinals in two of the past three men’s World Cups. Fans will say little has changed, because once again (see the 2018 semifinal defeat against Croatia and the 2021 Euros final loss against Italy) England took the lead and then retreated.
Men In Blazers
When Enzo Fernández was named the World Cup’s Young Player of the Tournament in 2022, hopes were through the roof for his future. He joined the ranks of Thomas Müller, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappé as the most recent recipients, and shortly after the tournament ended, he signed with Chelsea in a then-British transfer record of $138 million. It’s fair to say he has somewhat lived up to expectations in west London, even amid the club’s controversial ownership and its manager merry-go-round on the sideline. However, the second he puts on the crest of his nation, his game ascends to another plane of footballing reality.
The 25-year-old was the difference between a third-place match and a date with Spain on Sunday. His 85th-minute strike, a world-class effort from outside the box, handed Argentina the momentum to push for a winner.
Of all 22 starters and the substitutions who entered the match on Wednesday, no one outshot or registered more touches than the midfielder. He made Jude Bellingham look human, and Manchester City is likely scratching its head over why it bought Elliot Anderson instead of reuniting new manager Enzo Maresca with his former playmaker.
A workhorse midfielder who can create magic out of nothing and who will die for his teammates on the pitch, Fernández is the future of La Albiceleste as its aging core reaches its limits. A supremely gifted individual, he deserves his flowers, even if they arrive while the spotlight is on Lionel Messi.
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