England held a 1-0 lead deep into the second half Wednesday night in Atlanta. Then came the final minutes, and another chapter of World Cup heartbreak. Argentina scored twice to win 2-1 and advance to Sunday's final against Spain.
It has been 60 years since England reached a World Cup final. According to The Sporting News, that stretch includes Steven Gerrard's backward header in 2014, David Beckham's red card in 1998, and the Hand of God goal by Diego Maradona in 1986. Stars like Alan Shearer, Michael Owen, Gary Lineker, John Barnes, and Paul Gascoigne all fell short. None of them got even 90 minutes from lifting the trophy.
England's coach, Thomas Tuchel, made a substitution in the 69th minute that drew immediate scrutiny. He pulled winger Anthony Gordon, the player whose touch produced England's goal, and replaced him with defender Ezri Konsa. The move was a signal to sit back and protect the lead against reigning champion Argentina. Argentina's goals came from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez.
The Sporting News reported that Tuchel attempted to share responsibility for the loss by pointing to how his players performed on the field. "We got too passive after we scored and conceded a lot of chances and could not turn the bal," Tuchel said, with the quote cutting off mid-sentence in the source material. BBC Sport pundits Wayne Rooney, Joe Hart, and Micah Richards all pointed to Tuchel's tactical decisions as the primary factor in the defeat.
Just before the substitution, England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford had made a spectacular one-handed save off a header from Nicolas Gonzalez. England were roughly 20 minutes from the final at that point. A hydration break gave Tuchel the chance to set his strategy for the closing stretch of the match. He chose to go defensive.
Instead of traveling to New Jersey for the final, England will play in the third-place consolation match in Miami.
After the final whistle, Argentina's players celebrated by holding a banner reading "Las Malvinas son Argentinas," which translates as "The Falklands are Argentine." FIFA is now considering disciplinary action against the Argentine Football Association. According to BBC Sport, FIFA fined the Argentine Football Association £20,000 in 2014 after its players held up a banner with the same message before a friendly against Slovenia, ruling it a breach of rules on political action and team misconduct.
The Falkland Islands are a British overseas territory in the southwest Atlantic Ocean. Britain and Argentina fought a 74-day war over them from April to June 1982. The conflict resulted in the deaths of 655 Argentine and 255 British servicemen, along with three civilians from the islands. Sovereignty over the islands remains disputed.
Argentina vice-president Victoria Villarruel posted on X after the match, writing "it wasn't just another match" alongside a video of what appeared to be Argentine soldiers. "The Falklands are Argentine," Villarruel posted. "They banned bringing them to the stadium and forgot that we carry them in our blood and our hearts."
Before the semifinal, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni had taken a different position. "The reality is that this is a football match. I can't mix things up, especially out of respect for what happened so many years ago," Scaloni said. "It was a very sad period in our history, and there isn't much we can do about it, that's the reality. Things are happening elsewhere in the world, and we criticise the existence of war. We certainly remember those people, of course. But it is a football match - we shouldn't confuse the two."
The match had been played under increased security measures because of the historical tensions between England and Argentina. FIFA has not yet announced a timeline for any disciplinary decision regarding the banner.
