Argentina have made a habit of doing this. Down and seemingly out against England in the World Cup semi-final at Atlanta Stadium on Wednesday, they found two goals in the last ten minutes to win 2-1 and book their spot in Sunday’s final — another comeback in a tournament that’s had no shortage of them.
A Tense Build-Up
It wasn’t the cleanest game to watch, and honestly it wasn’t meant to be. This fixture came with baggage attached long before kickoff — the Falklands, decades of rivalry, comments from Argentina’s own vice president in the days before the match calling England “usurping pirates” — and fans on both sides packed Atlanta Stadium hours early, with security treating it as the highest-risk match of the whole tournament. The tension showed on the pitch too. The first half was scrappy and physical, players hitting the turf and appealing for cards more than actually threatening either goal. By the first break in play, the two sides had combined for eight fouls and not a single shot on target between them.
England Strike First
Things opened up a bit in the second half, and it was England who broke the deadlock. Morgan Rogers picked out Anthony Gordon with a pinpoint ball in the 55th minute, and Gordon made no mistake, smashing it past Emiliano Martínez to put England ahead. For a while it looked like it might hold up. Argentina pushed hard in response — Lisandro Martínez saw a header crash back off the post — but they couldn’t find a way through, and as the clock ticked into the final ten minutes it genuinely looked like England might be the ones heading to the final instead.
Argentina’s Late Turnaround
Then Argentina did what Argentina have done all tournament. In the 85th minute, Enzo Fernández — who’d already had one effort tipped over the bar moments earlier — picked up the ball from distance and curled a gorgeous strike into the top corner to level things at 1-1. England barely had time to reset before Argentina struck again. Deep into stoppage time, Messi drifted to the byline and whipped in a cross, and Fernández rose above his marker to head home the winner. Two goals in seven minutes, and just like that, England’s World Cup was over.
The numbers backed up how the game actually went, even with the early scare. Argentina finished with 1.84 expected goals from 15 attempts, more than three times England’s total of 0.53 from just five shots all game. Lionel Scaloni’s side controlled long stretches of the second half once they settled, and when it mattered most, they had the two players — Messi and Fernández — who’ve bailed this team out more than once already this summer.
What It Means Next
For Argentina, it’s a second straight World Cup final, and this time it comes with the added weight of a Messi-Yamal showdown against Spain on Sunday at the stadium in New York New Jersey — a matchup nobody could have scripted better if they tried. For England, there’s a third-place game against France to look forward to on Saturday instead, a game that will feel like the smallest of consolations after getting this close and falling short in the cruelest possible way.
Match Summary
England 1-2 Argentina FIFA World Cup 2026, Semi-final — Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta Wednesday, 15 July 2026
Goals: 55′ Anthony Gordon (England) 1-0 (assist: Morgan Rogers) 85′ Enzo Fernández (Argentina) 1-1 90+2′ Enzo Fernández (Argentina) 1-2 (assist: Lionel Messi)
Stats: Argentina 1.84 xG from 15 shots (5 on target) — England 0.53 xG from 5 shots (2 on target). Possession: England 35% — Argentina 56%.
Result: Argentina advance to the World Cup final for the second straight tournament, where they’ll face Spain on Sunday. England head to Saturday’s third-place playoff against France.
For live World Cup scores and semi-final coverage, visit fawanews. Full results and bracket at the official FIFA World Cup website.
