Argentina's incredible victory over England demonstrates why they are the current World Cup champions.
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| Enzo Fernández's goal set Argentina on course to overturn England's lead and advance to a second straight World Cup final. |
After Anthony Gordon gave them the lead early in the second half, England, trying to make it to their first final since 1966, were certain to break their 60-year drought. Argentina rushed forward to try to get back into the game, but England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made a number of excellent stops and an unfortunate finish kept the world champions looking for a way to tie the score.
However, Enzo Fernández's 20-yard goal in the 85th minute put Argentina back in the match, and two minutes into stoppage time, Lautaro Martínez's header from Lionel Messi's cross won it.
Spain, the European champion, will play Argentina in Sunday's final at New York/New Jersey Stadium (MetLife Stadium).-Mark Ogden
Argentina's World Cup experience wins the day
Despite Martínez's late header securing Argentina's victory, the entire squad led La Albiceleste to their second consecutive World Cup final.
After Argentina advanced to the World Cup semifinals in 2014 and 2022, midfielder Alexis Mac Allister previously talked on the significance of having this experience. "Obviously having the experience of playing in a World Cup semifinal is a plus, but it doesn't guarantee anything," Mac Allister remarked on Tuesday.
It was also advantageous. Before attacking England, Argentina maintained composure and organization when needed. Messi found room for Fernández's score by reading the game flawlessly. For Martínez, he did it again.
Lionel Scaloni, the coach of Argentina, took the right decisions from the sidelines to maintain his team's competitiveness. He replaced Rodrigo De Paul with Giuliano Simeone in the opening lineup, which was dubious, but he made amends in the second half.- Lizzy Becherano
Six decades of pain continue for England
Once more, football is not "coming home."
Prior to taking over, England coach Thomas Tuchel has worked to distance his squad from the years of suffering that the song "Three Lions" so eloquently depicts. Instead, he has highlighted the team's accomplishments in recent competitions.
This time, it felt different. England's historic triumph over Mexico at Estadio Azteca will serve as evidence for years to come that they are capable of handling the most difficult situations. The 60-year quest for a major championship continues, though, as they ultimately lost to the finest squad they played in this tournament.
This is how it always appears to be. Despite being ranked 14th in the world, Mexico was a hard test. Once more, they failed to overcome one of the best teams: consider Spain two years ago, France in 2022, and Italy in 2020. Even though they will have home-field advantage in the upcoming competition, Euro 2028, it still seems like England is stuck in a glass ceiling.- James Olley
Scaloni's changes steer Argentina to win
Argentina's underappreciated Scaloni outperformed Tuchel, a former Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and Paris Saint-Germain manager, despite England hiring the Champions League-winning coach to end their frantic quest for international victory.
Scaloni is sometimes written off as someone who only knows how to make Messi happy and has no history in the club game. But since he outwitted Tuchel with his changes when it mattered most, Scaloni has won a World Cup and two Copa America medals with Argentina and is poised to win a second World Cup.
Tuchel made negative changes as England tried to hold onto their lead, adding defenders Ezri Konsa, Dan Burn, and Nico O'Reilly. After Argentina took the lead, he finally used attacking changes with Marcus Rashford and Ivan Toney. Tuchel should have added more speed and menace to his attacking options, but instead he opted to defend.
With Nico González posing a threat from midfield and De Paul driving the team ahead, Scaloni went all out. Scaloni was obliged to make defensive adjustments, but he managed to get his team back into the game when they were behind 1-0. His addition of Martínez in the 81st minute changed the course of the match.
Martínez gave England's defense several problems, and he delivered the killer blow with his winning goal in the second minute of stoppage time. -- Ogden
Luck runs out for Tuchel as England fail to break cycle
England missed out on a World Cup final by five minutes plus stoppage time. And they were that near by using a strategy that had worked for them against Norway and Mexico: protect a lead with a back five out of possession.
However, the way they gave up the initiative here was reminiscent of previous tournament withdrawals; they lost too much ground and created too much pressure to lose a lead, just like they did in the Euro 2020 final (which they lost on penalties) and the 2018 World Cup semifinal against Croatia. Gordon gave England the lead, and after the 78th minute, they had just three opportunities.
Perhaps they had nothing left to give physically after the draining altitude of Mexico and the sweltering 120 minutes in Miami against Norway. But former coach Gareth Southgate was heavily criticized for his conservative substitutions as England were unable to close out winning positions in the latter stages of tournaments, and Tuchel might now face something similar given that Argentina -- and, inevitably, Messi -- were given the chance to change the momentum so quickly in their favor. -- Olley
Fernández the thorn in England's side
It was evident right away that Fernández was up for this one. He continued to harass and rush the England midfielder throughout the first quarter, landing one on the back of Elliot Anderson's head in the third minute. He was being a major annoyance, which is commendable. He's the kind of player you love when he's on your side. You'll be eager to cut his heels whenever you can if you're playing against him.
In this match, Fernández would inevitably have a voice. He put Pickford to the test with that long-range effort in the first half, but his momentum-swinging contribution came in the 85th minute. Messi found Fernández on the edge of England's box after Argentina was given too much room off a corner by England. After glancing at Pickford's goal for a moment, he discovered the corner of the net. Soon, he arrived in front of the enormous gathering of Argentina's supporters, who expressed their admiration. The Argentina player put on a performance that won the game.
It's worth also mentioning his midfield partner, Mac Allister, who put in quite a shift. Twice he struck the woodwork, and those moments gave Argentina even more encouragement to take things up a gear. -- Tom Hamilton
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