Five minutes from erasing decades of anguish, England turned passive. The painful result: two more assists for Lionel Messi and one more FIFA World Cup final for Argentina.
“We were so close,” England coach Thomas Tuchel said following the 2-1 defeat on Wednesday, July 15 (Thursday, July 16, Manila time), at Atlanta Stadium during a dour postgame session rolling on as Argentina celebrated with song, dance, and degrees of disbelief alongside home fans seated behind the winner’s goal. “But couldn’t keep the level after we scored. We deserved to be up 1-0. … we got passive.”
Defense dominated in the first World Cup semifinal without a shot in goal in the first half since 1966 as sparring — and a little extra — led to 19 total fouls.
Then the defending, three-time world champs blitzed England with goals in the 85th and 92nd minutes, sparking a party in Atlanta Stadium and advancing to the World Cup final on Sunday for the seventh time in the country’s history.
“Enjoy it,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “Everybody should be thanking the players. This group is difficult to explain. Honestly. … I know that you recognize and acknowledge and are very well aware of how special this team is. This is all thanks to them. I want to thank them.”
