Argentina shocks England 2-1 to advance to the World Cup final against Spain

The memory of Diego Maradona is never far from Argentina’s hearts.

I’m currently attempting to get out of Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the way is blocked by a few hundred Argentines singing a song about Maradona as a man in his shirt is carried around on someone’s shoulders.

It’s a standstill here as these fans might become permanent residents of the 200 level of this stadium.

I finally reach the escalator. It’s still a sea of Albiceleste jerseys as fans jump and sing, and most certainly do not want to leave.

England manager Thomas Tuchel walks off the pitch after the match.

The way the end of this match played out has commentators and social media going all out in blaming Thomas Tuchel for England’s loss.

The shift from a fairly balanced contest to a one-sided affair happened quite quickly after the Three Lions conceded possession to Argentina and just decided to try to close up shop with roughly half an hour left – a somewhat baffling decision from a respected manager at every level.

Watching England pip a goal in the 55th minute and then suddenly decide to play its luck, which ultimately failed to work out, felt oddly familiar to me as a Real Madrid fan. An X post from Spanish journalist Andrés Onrubia Ramos reminded me of something. This exact situation has pretty much happened before in the Champions League.

On its way to a record-breaking 15th Champions League crown, Madrid played Tuchel’s Bayern Munich in the semifinals of European club soccer’s top competition. The first leg was a 2-2 draw in Munich, and then Bayern scored a 68th-minute goal at the Santiago Bernabéu of the return match to put the pressure on Los Merengues at home. Shortly after scoring the goal, Tuchel subbed out attacker Leroy Sané for slow, but able defender Kim Min-jae in an effort to protect the lead. He then subbed off Harry Kane and Jamal Musiala – two offensive stars – for older, veteran presences.

Well, you can guess what happened next. The decidedly defensive posture ended in disaster as Madrid sub Joselu scored two goals really late on in the span of three minutes (including one in injury time!) to turn the fixture around and send Los Blancos through to the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund.

Tuchel is an incredible manager who adjusts and learns on the fly and isn’t afraid to take risks in his lineups, making many changes, but his inability to learn from this fatal mistake almost cost him against Norway in the quarterfinals and did cost him tonight.

He’s got to do better.

Argentina's Giovani Lo Celso holds a banner in the postmatch celebrations.

So much was made of the wider context surrounding this semifinal, notably the Falklands War, which was fought between the two nations in 1982.

It was a clear undercurrent in the buildup, seemingly more so within the Argentinian camp. At the end of the game, with the defending champion celebrating the brilliant comeback win, a banner was unfurled by Giovani Lo Celso on the pitch.

“Las Malvinas son Argentinas,” it read. That translates to “The Malvinas are Argentine.”

Las Malvinas is what Argentines call the Falkland Islands, a place which many in Argentina still press to claim.

Many an England World Cup exit has been tainted by justifiable “what if’s”: What if Diego Maradona’s opening goal had been rightly ruled out in 1986? What if David Beckham had been officiated by a more lenient referee in 1998 (Sol Campbell would score a header in that match he probably feels should have counted). What if Wayne Rooney had been more mature in 2006? What if goal line technology had been in place in 2010, as Frank Lampard’s lob clearly crossed the line?

But on Wednesday in what might come to be known as “The Battle in Atlanta,” the Three Lions can surely have no complaints. A goal to the good from the impressive Anthony Gordon and players and fans could almost taste the New York-New Jersey final this Sunday.

Somehow, England withstood a battering from Argentina after taking the lead, with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford so inspired he could have probably run for Prime Minister of Great Britain and won in a landslide. But England invited the pressure, which invited trouble, which invited Lionel Messi.

With five minutes to play, the magical Messi teed up Enzo Fernández, who blasted home from distance. And then Messi and his mates could smell the win, to avoid the peril of extra-time and penalties. A perfectly placed cross found the head of Lautaro Martínez and that was that for Thomas Tuchel’s valiant but shattered men.

Tuchel and his players, particularly Gordon and Pickford today, and Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham across the tournament, have much to be proud of, but England simply weren’t capable of killing off the game and scoring a second goal. Instead, Argentina will take on Spain this Sunday, while England do battle with the old enemy, France, in Miami for the contest for third place on Saturday.

Euro 2028 will be here before we know it, and 62 years of hurt may well come to an end. Winning a tournament at the first time of asking is a tough challenge, and Tuchel knows that all too well. It’s called “hurt” for a reason.

Argentina players celebrate their comeback victory.

When its back is against the wall, it seems to bring about the very best in Argentina.

Even when it found itself behind, like its coach Lionel Scaloni, the side didn’t panic or waver in its belief that it could get back into this contest.

It stuck to its guns and dug deep to bring about a spectacular turn of events to swing this match in its favor.

In truth, Thomas Tuchel’s decision to go ultra-defensive early gave Scaloni’s side license to attack at will.

It created more opportunities and space for Lionel Messi, who flourished and turned this game on its head.

And when you have strikers of the caliber of Lautaro Martínez waiting in the wings to pounce, there’s always a chance and he most certainly took his.

England captain Harry Kane walks off the pitch.

No love for the English as they leave the pitch.

Somber Three Lions players head down the tunnel, underneath where the loudest Argentina fans are situated. They’re met by huge whistles and curses as they head to the locker room.

Once the English are gone, the attention turns to the man of the match, Lionel Messi. Thousands of arms wave as his fans and players bow down to their little magician. He’s lifted into the air as all of Argentina’s contingent stays on the pitch.

The celebrations are well and truly on and they’ll be headed up to the Big Apple soon enough.

Lionel Messi celebrates with teammates after the win.

Some light shoving after the final whistle from some England players toward Argentina players, who are gleefully celebrating.

The roar of relief, joy, pride and everything that came out of the lungs of these Argentinian fans encapsulated more emotion than can be put into words. Once again, the world champions simply cannot be killed.

There are shirts being whirled all around me as disbelieving fans soak in the celebrations with their squad.

On the other end of the pitch, the English look crushed. They were so close to finally getting over the hump and have suffered a soul-crushing defeat. Some players are watching the Argentines celebrate, most are staring at the turf.

It’s truly a story of two sides to this stadium and the split in emotion could not be more stark.

A somber England applauds its fans, who stand and cheer them back. What a way for this journey to end.

England players react after the loss.

How many times can your heart get broken as an England fan? It seems like at least once more.

The Three Lions were just five minutes away from making their first World Cup final since 1966 and yet find themselves heading home.

It was all going so well – Anthony Gordon’s goal was celebrated up and down the country. But after going ahead, England manager Thomas Tuchel tried to shut the back door by throwing on countless defenders and not bothering to attack Argentina anymore.

In truth, that tactic worked against Mexico and Norway in the earlier knockout rounds – but this was against defending champion Argentina.

With no defensive work required, the South Americans just set up camp on the edge of England’s box and were allowed to attack at will. Lionel Messi, who was absent for much of the match, was suddenly awarded the freedom of the entire right side of the pitch.

It’s no surprise that he provided assists to both of Argentina’s goals. He was just too good and England too naive.

Tuchel will have a lot to answer for. He was brought in to get England over the line in this type of situation, but his negative tactics contributed to the team bowing out yet again.

Who would be an England fan?

Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates after the full-time whistle.

Argentina is into the final!

This team never knows when it’s beaten and has yet again performed a miracle escape act to win this dramatic semifinal at the death.

For so long in this game, Lionel Messi and co. looked devoid of ideas but Lionel Scaloni’s substitutions have turned this game in the most dramatic of circumstances.

Argentina goes to New Jersey to set up a Sunday showdown with Spain as it seeks to win back-to-back World Cups.

Just when all seemed lost, Enzo Fernández saves Argentina in this building once again.

It was Fernández who scored the winner against Egypt and now the equalizer against England, a goal that had been coming given Argentina was poking and prodding then English defense ever since Anthony Gordon’s opener.

The stands are shaking once again here in the upper reaches of the stadium and the Argentine fans are back in full voice.

The waves of sound here at Mercedes-Benz Stadium have become a tsunami. And unfortunately for England, Argentina gets a second in injury time and it looks like this is over.

Shirts are flying, drinks are being tossed, it’s absolutely pandemonium.

Argentina’s second goal shockingly didn’t blow the roof off this place, but it came close. Barely anyone is sitting now as the Argentines shake the stadium with their celebrations.