Argentina and England added to their historic rivalry with a thrilling second half display in Atlanta. Anthony Gordon opened the scoring line in the 55th minute, but England’s deep defensive shell was cracked by an outstanding strike from Enzo Fernández in the 86th minute. Six minutes, Lautaro Martinez’s stoppage time header proved to be the game winner.
In 1966, England won the World Cup after eliminating Argentina in the quarterfinals. In 1986, Argentina returned the favor thanks to Maradona’s infamous
“Hand of God” goal. Wednesday’s win evens the series at three wins apiece.
Argentina heads to their seventh World Cup final but only the second all-time competitive match against Spain. England will play France in the third place game on Saturday.
England’s left wing vs. Argentina’s right wing
Anthony Gordon and Djed Spence dominated Giuliano Simeone and Nahuel Molina for most of the match. The Englishmen constantly beat the Argentinians in the attack and recovered well on the defensive end, like the tackle in the video below. It was no coincidence that England’s goal ended with Anthony Gordon beating Molina in space for the easy tap-in.
Once Gordon was replaced in the 72nd minute, Argentina shifted Lionel Messi to the right wing and exclusively ran the attack through him. England became slow to close down crosses at the point of attack and near the goal. England had no answers as Argentina created a variety of golden opportunities, scoring both goals and hitting the post a couple times.
Thomas Tuchel’s mad genius is built for tournament play
After England’s 2-1 win over Norway, Tuchel gave his team a harsh review. Jude Bellingham brushed off the comments like Tuchel is a media pundit. While there seems to be no love lost between Tuchel and his players, it is hard to question the results.
Tuchel has a history of overachieving in cups while underachieving in domestic leagues. He won the 2016/17 DFB-Pokal at Dortmund but finished third in the Bundesliga. He won the 2020/21 Champions League with Chelsea but finished fourth in the Premier League.
While Argentina ultimately triumphed, England was about 10 minutes away from its first World Cup final in 60 years. Tuchel will surely be blamed for his heavy defensive strategy failing tonight but this tournament will still be viewed as a success for England.
The cardiac kids do it again
In all four knockout round matches, Argentina was tied heading into second half stoppage time. They found two extra time goals against Cape Verde, overcame a 2-0 deficit against Egypt, scored two extra time goals against 10-man Switzerland, and shocked England thanks to the heroics of Messi and company.
This is a psychologically brutal way to play, but Argentina has embraced the wild ride. Clearly, no lead is safe against the defending champs. Argentina has a championship mentality and it will be put to the test against Spain. Spain is fresh off a dominating 2-0 win over France and undefeated in its last 37 matches. Spain will attempt to break the deadlock with Italy for the outright record on Sunday.
Bonus Observations
- Transforming the Trionda ball from the host colors to gold is a stylish, collaborative move from FIFA and Adidas. This started in the Spain-France match and will also be used in the third place game and the final.
- Historically, players in the World Cup have been booked after three fouls under the “persistent infringement” law of the game. Giuliano Simeone had five fouls alone in the first half without being disciplined. This will be an interesting development in FIFA officiating moving forward.
- Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham did the dirty work on the defensive end tonight, rather than focusing on offensive highlights. The pain was very visible on their faces as they watched Argentina celebrate.
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