It's the World Cup dream shattered – England's bid for glory well and truly gone up in flames on Wednesday night as Argentina conjured up a dramatic late comeback to snatch a 2-1 victory in the semi-final. The Three Lions had been within touching distance of history, leading through Anthony Gordon's early second-half goal, but Thomas Tuchel's tactical masterclass turned into a recipe for disaster.
With England sitting pretty at 1-0 up, it seemed like the writing was on the wall for Lionel Messi and Co. But Argentina's reigning champions had other ideas – Enzo Fernández levelling with a thunderbolt of a strike before Lautaro Martínez sealed their place in Sunday's final against Spain in New York with an injury-time killer blow.
Tuchel took the blame, admitting his decision to send off Declan Rice and Reece James just three minutes before Argentina's equaliser was a turning point – switching England from a four-man defence to a back five that left them exposed and struggling. "We thought going to a back five would protect us better," Tuchel conceded, "but it ended up pulling us back." He shouldered the responsibility for his team's downfall, saying "if it doesn't go well, it's easy to say it was wrong" – echoing the sentiments of captain Harry Kane.
Kane expressed his disappointment at England's inability to hold onto their lead, telling the BBC that once they went ahead, they "seemed to try and hold on which, at this level, is not enough". The stats told the story – England managed just 12% possession between Gordon's goal and conceding the winner, highlighting their inability to control proceedings.
And it wasn't just the football that raised eyebrows – Jude Bellingham sparked a post-match controversy when he appeared to strike Argentina substitute Valentín Barco on the back of the head. Though no action was taken by officials, the incident summed up England's night – a frustrating end to what promised to be so much more.