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Anthony Gordon had given Three Lions second-half lead
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Enzo Fernández levels before Lautaro Martínez winner
England suffered World Cup heartache on Wednesday night with two late goals in seven minutes from Argentina giving them a 2-1 win and a place in Sunday’s final against Spain.
The substitute Lautaro Martínez scored the winner with a close-range header in injury time after Enzo Martínez had equalised with a superb strike from the edge of England’s penalty area in the 85th minute. Lionel Messi provided the assist for both.
England 1-2 Argentina: World Cup 2026 semi-final – live
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England had been minutes from making history by reaching their first men’s World Cup final since 1966, and first overseas, but paid the price for retreating after Anthony Gordon had given them the lead in the 55th minute.
England had appeared content to defend from that point, but had been riding their luck, with Jordan Pickford making a string of superb saves at close range and Argentina twice hitting the post before managing a stunning late comeback, their third of the tournament.
Argentina will have the opportunity to defend their title against the European champions in New York on Sunday, a mouthwatering fixture that will be Messi’s final World Cup appearance.
England will look back on a disjointed World Cup with regrets, particularly that they appeared to lack the conviction or energy to keep playing on the front foot when presented with a shot at history.
Thomas Tuchel’s substitutions and tactical changes had worked successfully in previous games but the England head coach’s in-game alterations here backfired. While celebrating their win Argentina players carried a banner, brought in by fans, saying the Malvinas (Falkland Islands) are Argentina’s.
England’s goal came at the start of the second half after a cagey opening most notable for the number of fouls conceded by both sides. Declan Rice picked up a loose ball to release Morgan Rogers, who found Gordon at the back post with an inviting cross, which the Barcelona forward tapped in with his first touch.
The captain, Harry Kane, told the BBC: “We played a good game for the large majority of it. Once we went 1-0 up we seemed to just try to hold on, which at this level is not enough. Just gutted because we’ve worked so hard to be here. The lads have given everything – every last bit of running, sweat, blood, tears, whatever it is. To fall short like we did today is just gutting.”
Kane tried to find positives in defeat. “We had a lot of good moments in this tournament,” he said. “A lot of good games. Another semi-final. We talk about knocking on the door; we are close – we just need to find that missing piece in the final stage of the tournament. These tournaments take it out of you: so much effort and pressure and mentality and we’ve shown a lot of that throughout the whole six-seven weeks we’ve been together but we’re just missing that final piece.”
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