England 1-2 Argentina: Late Turnaround Ends World Cup Dream

England's wait for a first World Cup final since 1966 goes on after a stunning late turnaround saw holders Argentina beat the Three Lions 2-1 in their semi-final at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Wednesday, in front of 68,239 supporters. England led through Anthony Gordon's early second-half finish and were five minutes from full time still in front, before Enzo Fernandez's 85th-minute strike from distance and Lautaro Martinez's stoppage-time header turned the game on its head. Lionel Scaloni's side now face Spain in Sunday's final in New Jersey, while Thomas Tuchel's England will play France in Saturday's third-place play-off in Miami.

Gordon's goal and an hour England controlled

England had the better of a scrappy, foul-heavy first half that produced 19 fouls, two yellow cards and no shots on target before half time, John Stones heading the game's first attempt wide from a Declan Rice free-kick on 33 minutes. The breakthrough came on 55 minutes when Morgan Rogers whipped in a superb cross for Gordon to finish at the back post, but it was Argentina who had produced the first shot on target moments earlier, Julian Alvarez testing Jordan Pickford at his near post on 47 minutes. Pickford stayed alert after England's goal too, getting down to push away a Nico Gonzalez header from a Lionel Messi cross on 69 minutes, a warning that Argentina were still finding a way through.

Tuchel's fateful call and Argentina's late storm

The turning point, according to Sky Sports News' Rob Dorsett in Atlanta, was not a moment on the pitch but a decision on the touchline. With England still 1-0 up, Tuchel made a series of defensive substitutions to try to see the game out, and Dorsett did not hold back afterwards: "It feels overridingly that Tuchel got that wrong. The man who the FA employed because of his brilliant tactical nous in knockout games has to hold his hands up. England scored and had the upper hand, and Tuchel immediately shifted to try to hold what they had. Sitting deep for more than half an hour with stoppage time to go shifted all the momentum to Argentina." The warning signs arrived before either goal, with Alexis Mac Allister heading Rodrigo De Paul's cross against the post on 76 minutes as Pickford stood rooted to his line.

Fernandez's screamer and Martinez's header

Argentina's equaliser, when it came, was not scrappy or fortunate. Enzo Fernandez fired in a stunning strike from distance on 85 minutes after a spell of heavy pressure, and seven minutes later, deep into stoppage time, substitute Lautaro Martinez headed in the winner, Messi supplying the assist. "There were warning signs aplenty before they scored the equaliser, and more before the winner," Dorsett said. "Argentina could have scored more, hitting the post twice in a mad last quarter of the game. England can have no complaints. The better side won. But there's an awful feeling that this was to a large degree self-inflicted."

Verdict: a final beckons for Argentina, hard questions for England

There is no dressing this up as bad luck. England were in total control of this semi-final for the best part of an hour and let it slip through a mixture of Tuchel's own tactical retreat and a 15-minute spell in which Argentina simply produced the better football when it mattered most. Messi's role in the winner, even at this stage of his career, is the kind of detail that should worry whoever Argentina meet next, and Sunday's final against Spain in New Jersey now looks a fitting stage for the holders. For England, a first World Cup final since 1966 will have to wait at least another cycle, and Saturday's third-place play-off against France in Miami is a strange, deflating consolation for a squad that spent an hour believing this was finally the one.

Sources: Sky Sports.