Argentina trailed England for much of the first half, committing fouls and struggling to find their rhythm. The same pattern continued into the second half, and England took the lead with a goal within the first ten minutes of that half. From that point, Argentina appeared to lose their composure.
But La Albiceleste gave England no further chances for the rest of the match. After conceding, Lionel Messi, Enzo Fernández and Lautaro Martínez combined to author a stunning comeback, playing classic Argentine football that ultimately secured their place in the final.
England coach Thomas Tuchel was left visibly shaken by Argentina’s performance. According to him, the match essentially split into two distinct halves — one before England’s goal, and an entirely different one after it.
England had led 1-0 until the 84th minute of the match. After a chaotic first half, they took the lead in the 55th minute through an Anthony Gordon goal. From there, Argentina’s magic took over. Enzo Fernández first equalized in the 85th minute with a superb finish.
Then, in the second minute of stoppage time, Lautaro Martínez sealed Argentina’s victory with a brilliant header from a precisely weighted Messi cross. Tuchel admitted after the match that the momentum shifted entirely following England’s own goal.
“I think we deserved to be 1-0 up at that stage of the match — the moment of Gordon’s goal. But unfortunately, and strangely, that moment ended up flipping the entire momentum of the match in the opposite direction.
“Argentina began playing with more risk, more rhythm — perhaps with the feeling that they had nothing left to lose.”
“That mindset was what freed them up and held us back, because suddenly we found ourselves playing with the feeling that we had a lot to lose. I think the part of the match before the goal and the part after it were essentially two completely different games.”
Tuchel now finds himself under scrutiny following England’s defeat. The German coach has faced criticism for his decision to substitute off both goal-scorer Anthony Gordon and midfield engine Declan Rice during the match.
Tuchel, however, isn’t paying much attention to that criticism.
“That’s the nature of the game. If you lose, you’re going to face criticism — that’s just how it works. Everyone criticizes after a defeat. No one truly knows what would have happened had different decisions been made.
